their limbs, and the lepers became clean as babes. At the sight of
these miraculous cures, the people published aloud all those wonderful
operations, which they knew to have been performed by Father Xavier; and
his old companion John Deyro, at that time a religious of the order of St
Francis, related, with tears of tenderness and devotion, what the saint
had prophesied of him, which was now accomplished. In the mean time, on
that very day, which was Friday, the canons of the cathedral solemnly
sung the high mass of the cross. The clay following, the religious of St
Francis, whom the man of God had always honoured, and tenderly affected,
came to sing the mass of the blessed Virgin, in the church of the
Society.

When in this manner the public devotion had been accomplished, on Sunday
night the coffin was placed on an eminence near the high altar, on the
gospel side.

In this place I ought not to omit, that the vessel which had borne this
sacred pledge to Goa, split asunder of itself, and sunk to the bottom, so
soon as the merchandizes were unloaded, and all the passengers were come
safe on shore; which was nothing less than a public declaration of
Almighty God, that he had miraculously preserved her in favour of that
holy treasure; and that a ship which had been employed on so pious an
occasion, was never to be used on any secular account.

As soon as it was known in Europe that Father Xavier was dead, they began
to speak of his canonization. And on this account, Don John the Third,
King of Portugal, gave orders to the viceroy of the Indies, Don Francis
Barreto, to make a verbal process of the life and miracles of the man of
God. This was executed at Goa, at Cochin, at the coast of Fishery, at
Malacca at the Moluccas, and other parts; and men of probity, who were
also discerning and able persons, were sent upon the places, heard the
witnesses, and examined the matters of fact, with all possible exactness.

It is to be acknowledged, that the people took it in evil part, that
these informations were made; being fully satisfied of the holiness of
the saint, and not being able to endure that it should be doubted in the
least; in like manner, neither would they stay, till all the
ecclesiastical proceedings were wholly ended, nor till the Holy See had
first spoken of rendering him the worship due to saints; they invoked him
already in their necessities, and particularly in all sorts of dangers.
Some of them placed his pict