Statue of Francisco Xavier

The statue of Francisco Xavier, located on the Charles Bridge in the Czech capital, Prague, is dedicated to the Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier, who, on behalf of Pope Paul II and the Portuguese king, tried to convert Asians to Christianity. The first statue was created in 1711 by sculptor Ferdinand Brokoff commissioned by the Faculty of Philosophy and Philology of Charles University. In 1913, a copy of the work of Vincenz Vozmiga was placed on the site of the statue that drowned during the flood of 1890.

One of the most valuable sculptures of the complexity of the Charles Bridge is a missionary standing on a high pedestal, overshadowing the high-raised crucifix of an Indian prince who kneeled to his left. The pedestal is represented by figures of a Tatar, a samurai and a negro. The boy to Francis’ right hand handed him a sink of water to sanctify. Next to the boy you can see the sculpture of a brooding man with a book, which has a portrait resemblance to the creator of the sculptural composition Ferdinand Brokoff.