THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
NN. ————
Though the congregation was primarily established for American work, it was not until 1854 that Brother Francis was able to introduce it into the United States, its first house being St. Patrick’s school, Louisville, Ky. In 1860 the founder resigned the generalship of the congregation, of which Brother John Chrysostom became superior general, at the mother house in Bruges, Brother Isidore being provincial for America, and the other two provinces being Belgium and England. In 1866 the congregation was introduced into the archdiocese of Baltimore, where the major number of its houses are still centered; in 1881 they entered Richmond, Va., and in 1882 Lowell, Mass. The task of the Xaverian Brothers is the Christian training of youth in parochial schools, academies, and colleges, and the superintendence of homes for boys, male orphanages, industrial schools, etc. In 1911 there were in the American province 250 brothers, with 6,889 pupils, and with houses in the archdioceses of Baltimore and Boston, and the dioceses of Louisville, Springfield, Richmond, Wheeling, Manchester, Detroit, Hartford, and Newark; while in England the congregation possesses schools or colleges in the dioceses of Salford and Southwark. BrsuiocrapHy: Currier, Religious Orders, pp. 518-524.
XAVIER, FRANCIS. See Francis XAviER,
SAINT.
XENAIA. See PHILOXENUS.
XEROPHAGIA. See Montanus, Monranism, § 3.
XIMENES, zi/’me-nes’ (JIMENEZ), DE CISNE- ROS, FRANZISCO (GONZALES): Spanish cardinal and inquisitor; b. at Torrelaguna (28 m. n. of Madrid) in 1486; d. at Roa (95 m. n. of Madrid) Nov. 8, 1517. His life fell in a period of supreme importance for Spain. The little kingdoms were unified; the Moors were finally overcome or driven out; America was discovered, and the royal power received great strength. The Roman Catholic Church, which was in closest union with Spanish nationality, shared in these advantages to an enormous degree. In the history of this period Ximenes had great part, and helped to create the new Spain which was distinguished by ecclesiastical and political absolutism; and this he did in no spirit of self-seeking, but as a patriot and loyal son of the Church, doing his duty as he saw it. His family was not the famous Cisneros, but of lower, though noble dignity, receiving its name from the city where its members had earlier lived. His father was a royal collector of contributions for the war against the Moors. He himself, known as Gonzales before he took the cloister name of Franzisco, received his schooling at Alcala and Salamanca, taking the bachelor degree in both branches of law in 1556. During the next six years he was in Rome engaged in law; the death of his father caused his return to Spain. There he was soon called by Mendoza, bishop of Siguenza, to serve as vicar of the diocese where his administration was a shining success, Against the wishes of his friends he determined to enter as a novice the Franciscan order in the monastery of the Observantists at Toledo. Here, too, his
Life till I4Q2.
fame grew as preacher and confessor. Again he left what promised to be new fame, and retired as a solitary to a hut which he built, remaining there three years in prayer and leading the life of an anchorite. His superiors directed him to enter a cloister in Salpeda, where in a short time he was made guardian.
A new direction was given to the life of Ximenes in 1492, when he was chosen confessor to the queen. This carried with it a large influence, since Isabella was wont to congult her confessor on matters both of Church and State. Mendoza, who had become
cardinal and archbishop of Toledo,
As Con- persuaded Ximenes to accept, but the fessor, Arch-latter imposed the condition that he
bishop, Re- should remain in his order and in the
former, and monastery when actual duty did not Evangelist. hinder; and he was actually chosen
provincial for Castile two years later.
This gave him opportunity to correct the lax practises which prevailed in the institutions, and through the queen he obtained a bull which gave him unlimited power for effecting reform. In 1495 the death of Mendoza left the archbishopric vacant, and the appointment was in the hands of Isabella. The king desired the position for his natural son, but the queen appointed Ximenes. The place was the highest, ecclesiastically, in Spain, with an immense income. But Ximenes was loath to accept, and did so only under express command of the pope. No change was made in his manner of living, while the income was applied to deeds of public and private philanthropy; it required a brief from the pope to have him conduct his household more in accordance with his position. His first care was to reform the secular clergy, and in so doing he aroused intense opposition, which with the queen’s help he broke down. Canon Albornoz, whom his colleagues had sent to Rome to lodge complaints against Ximenes before the pope, was seized as he debarked at Ostia and brought back to Spain to suffer imprisonment for twenty-two months. In the reform of the orders, especially his own, he met opposition and caused the withdrawal of over 1,000 monks, who left in order to avoid the new rules. The pope withdrew a hostile bull, and had his nuncio work with Ximenes. The archbishop was equally bent on the conversion of the Moors. This, too, was the purpose of Fray Fernando de Talavera, who had become archbishop of Granada. But the capitulation of 1491 contained a stipulation for freedom in religion; hence Talavera had worked for the conversion of the Moors in friendly methods, learned Arabic so as to be able to address them, and had his clergy do the same. He issued an Arabic lexicon, instruction book, catechism, and selections from the Gospels; and these measures were effectual in bringing many over. But there were fanatics who thought these measures too mild, and among them was Ximenes, who assembled the Arabic scholars and set before them Christian doctrine in impressive form. He also flattered the Arabic love of dress, and presented the people with showy raiment, and many were thus won, so that he is said to have baptized 3,000 in one day. But the opposition of the Moors was aroused, upon which Ximenes used new measures. The learned Zegri he so tortured that