In the castle
IN THE CASTLE
Xavier’s Castle
In Navarra, near the Aragón River, in an austere valley near the Pyrenees, was the Castle of Javier. Flanked by four lofty towers, protected by thick walls and a deep moat filled with water, spanned by a drawbridge. There was born, in the year 1506, the great apostle. He was the sixth son of two excellent Christians, Juan de Jasso and Mara de Azpilcueta.
His father lived little in the castle. He was one of the most important men in the kingdom of Navarre, the most trusted by the king. He had to dedicate himself to his political activities in Pamplona; and to the diplomats in Castile and France,
The miraculous Christ
Javier often went to the castle chapel to pray to a great Christ, who is said to have his blood when he was dying. Some visitor now climbs on his knees the semicircular stairs that lead to that chapel, and that the saint climbed so many times.
The Christ is a more than life-size walnut carving. He has a soft smile. He was found in the hollow of a wall: he was hanging down, with his arms hanging, held behind his back by a chain. It seems that he was hidden there since the time of the Moors.
His mother molded Javier
She infused mercy and love into Jesus and Mary. Her father was almost always absent. Her brothers, in uprisings and wars against Castile. Her holy sister Magdalena, who became a lady-in-waiting to Queen Isabella of Castile, had become a nun of the Poor Clares of Ganda two years before Javier was born. Ana was barely able to teach him to walk because she got married very soon. Her other siblings were: Mara, Miguel de Javier and Juan de Azpilcueta.
Our Lady of Xavier
It is an old image, patron saint of the town. A Romanesque sculpture, probably from the 13th century, seated with the Child Jesus in her arms. Before her, by order of the lords of the castle, the “Salve Regina” had to be sung on all the holy days of obligation and some more. Then they will order the singing to be daily, by ringing the castle bell. Javier will attend the singing of the “Hail” with his mother.
Xavier Parish Church
The lords of the castle rebuilt and enlarged the village church. They gave him in perpetuity all the tithes of bread, wine, cattle, etc… that they enjoyed.
They built an Abada next to the church, where a vicar, two prebendaries, a servant and a schoolboy lived in community. She was to sing the Mass daily: on Saturday in honor of Our Lady; Monday for the dead. On Sundays and holidays they should say the Solemn Mass. Javier will attend those masses.
Javier’s herds
Herds and cheese were the basis of the economy. Migrating herds, from the mountains and the riverbank, traversed the castle grounds. They paid a fee for the grass they ate: a lamb and five salaries. But if they were smuggled in, the herds were robbed: one sheep was taken from them for every five.
Once, when Javier was 13 years old, many herds of contraband passed through. But the guard and the three castle brothers ran after them and turned them back. The guard removed the 300 sheep that correspond to the lady. Although later there was an amicable settlement, and the lady only kept five.
The mill
Half an hour from the castle, and next to the crystalline Aragón, they had a mill. When the river had enough flow, it transported rafts made up of 18 logs from the Pyrenean forests, which went to the Ebro. The rafts stopped near the mill so that a log was removed from each one, for the damage they caused to the dam. Javier controlled the tasks of the mill, when he was in charge of family affairs. In his files he appears representing his mother in a mill lease.
castle salt flats
A little further from the mill, between two heather-covered hills, a modest spring of salt water gushed forth. It was used to obtain salt. It was owned by the lords of the castle. Part of the salt was given as a tithe to the vicar of Santa María. Javier would visit this fountain and the other properties of the castle. And without a doubt he would go on excursions with a companion through the mountains, and fish in the Aragón river. He would also rest in the shade of the holm oak, oak and beech forests.
Leyre Monastery
Perhaps it is from the time of the Goths. It is on the side of a mountain range. The Benedictines inhabited it. The children of kings and nobility were educated there. For some time it served as a pantheon for the kings of Navarre. Today his ashes are in a marble tomb in the church.
The Legend of Abbot Virila
I don’t understand what infinite time is. One day he got into the mountains. When I was resting by a source of crystal clear cold water, a little bird began to sing beautifully. The abbot was ecstatic. When he woke up he was not right with the way. He did not recognize the monastery, which was transformed… The monks did not recognize him. Only in the archives could the memory of an abbot Virila be found, who had mysteriously disappeared 300 years ago: those who had been ecstatic listening to the little bird. Then he understood what eternal happiness would be. Javier would hear this legend more than once.
In 1516 Navarra revolted against Castile
Javier’s two brothers fight with Navarra but Castilla finally wins. And Cardinal Cisneros, then regent, orders the demolition of the Navarrese fortresses, including Javier’s castle. When the two brothers return home, they find only a heap of ruins and a run-down farmhouse.
Meanwhile Javier had taken care of the family business. His father had died when he was 9 years old. He was the saint 11 years old when he sadly attended the demolition of the castle and the usurpation of his lands by the people.