Javier Castle is in the province of Navarre in the Basque region of Spain about 30km from Pamplona. It was originally constructed on a rocky hill in the 10th century as an Arab Fortress. However, there is virtually none of the original Arab buildings left. It had the double mission of being a bastion to protect the frontier and also a home for noblemen and knights. In later years it became a place of pilgrimage as it is possibly most famous as the birthplace on 7th April 1506 of St Francis Xavier (one of the founders of the Society of Jesus or Jesuits) who is the patron saint of Navarre and the missionary church.
