Francis Borgia, 4th Duke of Gandía
Grandee of Spain and Jesuit priest (1510–1572)
Feast: 10 October (1962 Missal, III class) · not on the current Roman calendar
Who they were
Francis Borgia was born on 28 October 1510, son of the third Duke of Gandía and great-grandson of Pope Alexander VI. He served at the court of Charles V, became Duke of Gandía, reorganised his duchy and founded a university there. His wife died in 1546; he had already invited the Jesuits to Gandía and become their disciple, and on 1 February 1548 took their vows, remaining in the world until he had provided for his children.
On 31 August 1550 he left his estates for ever, reached Rome, threw himself at the feet of St Ignatius and urged him to found the Roman College. Within the Society he became a tireless apostle, and in 1565 and 1566 founded its missions in Florida, New Spain and Peru. He died on 30 September 1572.
The miracles
His process began after his grandson, then Duke of Gandía, saw his own granddaughter miraculously cured through Francis's intercession. The miracles examined are not otherwise described in the sources we have used.
Why that counted as sanctity
A great nobleman of a notorious family gave up his dukedom to become a humble Jesuit, repairing, as the Catholic Encyclopedia puts it, what his ancestors had done.
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - St. Francis Borgia
- Wikidata Q380092 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Francis Borgia (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.