Saint Francis Xavier and the miracle of the crab carrying the crucifix. Patron saint of missions and intercessor for conversions

St. Francis Xavier, a great missionary and one of the four founders of the Jesuit Society, is also well known for his portentous miracles, such as his predictions of the future and calming rough seas. One of his most famous miracles was that of the crucifix and the crab.

During one of his missionary expeditions to evangelize the Moluccas, his ship was hit by a strong storm. Even the sailors, who were used to this kind of situation, were terrified and could see no escape. As the ship capsized in the middle of the sea, St. Francis leaned over one of the edges to try to touch the sea with his miraculous crucifix in order to calm it down... but the cord holding it broke and it fell out of his hands, sinking into the sea and then disappearing.

The saint was saddened, because that crucifix was an important symbol that he carried with him to demonstrate his Catholic faith, just as God had worked great wonders through that treasure in his hands. Finally, in the morning, they arrived at Céron beach with a lot of effort.

Once they were on dry land, they saw a large crab come out of the sea carrying something in its raised claws. It goes straight to the saint and as it approaches they notice that it is the crucifix of St. Francis Xavier! He kneels down to pick it up and kisses it reverently. The crab then returns to the sea after fulfilling its mission.

This miracle was part of the bull of his canonization in 1670 by Pope Clement X. Watch this miracle in the video we produced (with images generated by Artificial Intelligence) below:

References: padrepauloricardo.org, cruzterrasanta.com.br, xaverianos.org.br