A humble crab once became the bearer of the sacred. The miraculous tale of a crab returning St. Francis Xavier’s crucifix from the sea has echoed through centuries—retold in paintings, devotional texts, and theatrical performances. Celebrated widely during his canonization in 1622, this miracle became central to Xavier’s fama sanctitatis. This session explores the various visual and textual versions of the story, its symbolic power, and its reception across different regions, while drawing connections to similar miraculous events involving cross-bearing crabs in other parts of the world.

This talk will be delivered by Dr. Antonio De Caro (PhD, Hong Kong Baptist University), Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Art History at the University of Zürich. As part of the GLOBECOSAL project, he researches representations of St. Francis Xavier in Asia. His work focuses on Christianity in China, cross-cultural Sino-European exchanges, and the reception of Catholic art in the early modern and modern periods.

Date: 2nd May, Friday

Time: 4:00 PM IST

Online free lecture on Zoom

Open for all!

To register, send a message on WhatsApp at +91 83088 05399