St. Francis Xavier Seminary

17/02/2026

23/11/2024

There is a lot of speculation going on out there, most of which is false! Please take note of the dates given here. Thank you.

03/12/2023

Today we think about Saint Francis Xavier, the patron of our seminary, even though his feastday has been eclipsed by the First Sunday of Advent.

Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta was born at Javier in the Kingdom of Navarre on 7 April 1506. He met Ignatius of Loyola when they were both students in Paris. In 1534 they were part of a group of seven who made vows of poverty and chastity. This group would grow into the Society of Jesus, getting papal approval in 1540.

In 1541, Francis was sent to Goa. From there he preached in south India, Malacca and Japan. He hoped to evangelise in China but died on 3 December 1552 on an island just 14km off the Chinese coast. He was canonised in 1622 and named co-patron of the missions in 1927.

St. Francis Xavier was proclaimed patron saint of our seminary at the opening of the first part of our building, on 3 December 1959.

06/11/2022

Our garden in early summer: all episcopal purple and cardinatial red!

06/11/2022

What is this that we've dug up in our garden... a dinosaur, a pre-colonial warthog, or maybe a seminary watchdog from years gone by???

06/11/2022

A lovely day for a trip to Robben Island: once a l***r colony, then a penal settlement.. Seminarians saw the places where Sobhukwe, Mandela, Sisulu and many others were incarcerated.

06/11/2022

Flooding at the seminary due to a burst pipe outside! Thankfully the municipal workers arrived on the same day. Thank you, gents!

06/11/2022

Combined formation groups outing to "Ropeworkz", where people learn specialised skills.

06/11/2022

Our most recent birthdays: Sandile and David. Many happy returns!

22/10/2022

Masks are back on, not because of Covid, but because the guys were scrubbing mould from our front wall and gateposts. The winter is behind us, the sun is shining!

22/10/2022

The seminary hosted an afternoon of friendly soccer matches, with the seminarians and university chaplaincy students going up against teams from a township youth project which gets young guys off the street at weekends. After playing at a ground in our neighbourhood, some came back to the seminary for hotdogs and ice cream. 😀⚽️

22/10/2022

Congratulations to our former students, now in Pretoria, who graduated with a B.A. in Philosophy yesterday. Pictured are Believe Maluleke, Mbongiseni Dlamini, Koketso Monnana, Qetelo Lengoasa & S'khumbuzo Ben.