SAN FRANCISCO DE BORJA: BIOGRAPHY, MUSIC AND WRITING - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

San Francisco de Borja (1510-1572) was a Spanish religious who was part of the nobility of that country. He was a general of the Society of Jesus and held positions as duke, marquis, grandee or viceroy of important Spanish cities. During Borja's tenure, illicit businesses, crime and the latent threat from France were greatly reduced in Catalonia, Spain.

After having lost two close relatives and holding various political positions, the duke decided to retire from the positions he held to dedicate himself to religion. This caused surprise in society by the fact that someone belonging to the nobility became a Jesuit.

Juan Martínez Montañés, from Wikimedia Commons

Biography

Family

San Francisco de Borja was born on October 28, 1510 in the Kingdom of Valencia, Spain. He was born under the name of Francisco de Borja y Aragón, and was the first son of Juan de Borja and Juana de Aragón. In addition, it belonged to a family that was part of the royalty of Spain.

His father served as the Duke of Gandía and his grandfather was Pope Alexander VI. On the other hand, his mother was the daughter of the one who became Archbishop of Zaragoza and Viceroy of Aragon.

In turn, Borja was the grandson of María Enríquez de Luna: cousin of King Fernando and granddaughter of the Admiral of Castile, Enrique Enríquez.

Childhood

Francisco de Borja y Aragón's wishes to become a monk were repressed in a certain way by his relatives, who at an early age encouraged him to hold positions of the nobility.

After the death of his mother and a revolt of the poorer social classes against the nobility, Borja fled in 1520 at the age of 10 to Zaragoza, where he received education from his uncle Juan de Aragón, archbishop of Zaragoza.

Two years later, he was sent to a castle in Tordesillas where Juana I of Castilla, better known as Juana la Loca, was held. The reason for his stay in the place was to accompany Catalina, Juana's daughter and future queen of Portugal, along with other children.

In 1525, Francisco de Borja y Aragón continued his academic training after returning to Zaragoza.

Marriage

Three years after his return to Zaragoza, Francisco de Borja y Aragón became a baron at age 18 after his father granted him half of the responsibility in Llombay, a municipality in Valencia, Spain.

Faced with their parents' need for their son to have offspring, the Dukes of Gandía asked the Emperor for help, who recommended the Portuguese Leonor de Castro to be his wife.

The following year he married Leonor de Castro, a close friend of Empress Isabel, who was also from Portugal. The marriage resulted in the birth of eight children.

The closeness he had with the empress facilitated his appointment as senior groomsman of Isabel of Portugal, who was empress of a political group in Europe and queen of Spain.

On May 1, 1539, there was great consternation in the Spanish nation when Isabel of Portugal died at 36 years of age.

Eighteen days after the start of the funeral of Isabel de Portugal, the coffin was uncovered to verify the identity of the woman before being buried. This fact made a great impression on Borja.

Viceroy of Catalonia

The year of the death of Isabel de Portugal was the same in which Francisco de Borja y Aragón was appointed Viceroy of Catalonia, a position he held until 1543 in combination with a marked religious routine.

As Viceroy, part of the activities he carried out were to end crime, build public roads, improve conditions in the city, greatly reduce illicit businesses and reduce the French threat.

During free time, Borja dedicated himself to prayer. His interest in religion was not welcomed by members of the court, as it was considered a sin to take communion while in public office.

Duke of Gandía

Francisco de Borja y Aragón traveled to Gandía after the death of his father in 1543. The physical departure of his father led him to take the position of IV Duke of Gandía until the year 1550. He was appointed to this position by the director of the House of the prince, Felipe of Spain.

During his tenure, he founded a university, made important buildings, promoted agricultural production and helped the most disadvantaged. His actions as a duke left an important mark on the entity.

Before the end of his mandate as duke, Francisco de Borja y Aragón suffered the physical departure of a new relative: on March 27, 1546, Leonor de Castro died in the Monastery of San Jerónimo de Cotalba. Three years after the event, Borja made the decision to join the Society of Jesus.

The Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus was founded in 1524 by the Spanish Saint Ignatius of Loyola. To enter the organization Borja took vows of chastity, and over time became a general of the Company.

With this action Francisco de Borja y Aragón broke with public policies and dedicated himself to the Society of Jesus, which generated a lot of commotion in the society of the time for being a duke who became a Jesuit.

In 1550, he did a doctorate in theology and gave his position to his son Carlos; a year later he was ordained as a priest to dedicate himself to preaching.

After exercising the priesthood, Borja was appointed as head of the Society of Jesus in Spain and Portugal for the period of 1554 and 1559, time in which he founded at least twenty schools. The pedagogical practice based on Christian spirituality became part of his life.

His performance over the years in the Society of Jesus led to him being appointed general of the organization after the occupant of that position, Diego Laínez, died in 1566. San Francisco de Borja held the position until his death.

Death

In 1571, Pope Pius IV asked Francisco de Borja y Aragón to accompany a cardinal to the Spanish and Portuguese embassies, but the trip was to be detrimental to his health to a great extent. Despite the risk, Borja traveled to European countries where he was received with open arms by society.

After visiting both countries, Borja traveled to France. There he was also well received by Carlos IX and Catalina de Medici. In the Gallic country he moved from Blois to Lyon, a trip with which his state of health deteriorated every day.

Alfonso del Este, his cousin and Duke of Ferrar, sent for Francisco de Borja y Aragón after he arrived in Turin, Italy. The then general of the Society of Jesus decided to spend his last days in Loreto to later live in Rome, Italy.

On September 3, 1972, he set out on a journey to his chosen destination; he stayed eight days in Loreto and then moved to Rome. Two days before he died, Borja received visitors to his bed to give them his blessing.

Francisco de Borja y Aragón died on September 30 at midnight due to health problems that he suffered at 61 years of age.

Beatification

In 1607, Borja's beatification process began after members of the nobility noticed that one of his granddaughters was healed by what is believed to be her intervention. That year it was decided to start the canonization process in several cities.

The remains of Francisco de Borja y Aragón were received in Madrid in 1617. The Congregation of Rites announced the beatification in 1624 and then Pope Urban VIII performed it in the Spanish capital.

On the other hand, the canonization was carried out in 1671 by Pope Clement X, almost a century after his death. The process turned him into San Francisco de Borja, who also became the patron of Gandía; for this reason the festivities in honor of the saint are celebrated at the end of September.

Music

Many say that one of the main hobbies of San Francisco de Borja was music. Some experts in the musical area such as Bernardo Adam Ferrero, rector of the Valencian Music Academy, point out that Borja made important contributions to the music of the 16th century.

Writing

In addition to music, Borja was also considered an important writer. One of the works attributed to him is Visitatio sepulchri, in which his vocation for religion was reflected; It is about a drama written in 1551 that deals with the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

However, this is not the only work attributed to San Francisco de Borja. Other texts of a religious nature were well received by critics and have also been awarded.

References

1. Press kit. Biography of San Francisco de Borja, José Puig Miret, (2010). Taken from mediacan.com
2. Francisco de Borja, Wikipedia in Spanish, (2018). Taken from wikipedia.org
3. San Francisco de Borja, Biographies and Lives Portal, (nd). Taken from biografiasyvidas.com
4. San Francisco de Borja, Portal Infovaticana, (2014). Taken from infovaticana.com
5. San Francisco de Borja, Online Catholic Encyclopedia Portal, (nd). Taken from ec.aciprensa.com
6. V Centenary of the birth of San Francisco de Borja, Miguel Navarro, (2010). Taken from diputaciondelagrandeza.es