Bejeweled Rock of Prayer: The Oratory of St Francis Xavier in Nuvali

JOHNNY C. GO SJ

When it was first inaugurated on 9 March 2013, I spoke of the Oratory of St. Francis Xavier during my homily at the very first Mass held there:

If you look around here, almost every space and corner—certainly every window—tells a story. Thanks to the breathtakingly beautiful stained glass window, this oratory has been turned into a bejeweled rock, adorned with brilliant shards of colors and images. It has become a virtual repository of stories that define Xavier School, stories that tell us where we’ve we’ve been and where we’re headed as a community. Some of these stories are well known, stories that every grade schooler in Xavier has heard repeatedly and learned by heart; others still need retelling. But whether familiar or new, they make up our collective memory in Xavier.

The Oratory of St. Francis Xavier was designed by Architect Jose Pedro (Bong) Recio and built in memory of Mr. John Gokongwei Sr. and Mrs. Juanita Marquez-Lim Gokongwei. The Xavier Rock—as it has come to be called—was built through the generosity of Lily Gokongwei Sr. and Mrs. Juanita Marquez-Lim Gokongwei.  The Xavier Rock – as it has come to be called – was built through the generosity of Lily Gokongwei Ngochua, Lance Y. Gokongwei (’83), Ignacio and Margarita Ortigas, Eleksis Marketing Corporation, Nico (’07), N’ lson (’08) and Nathaniel (’09) P. Salvador. The construction of the chapel was overseen by Ms. Zsa Zsa Yu, the overall campus development coordinator, without whom I honestly believe I would not have been able to build this campus.

In the evenings, when lit from the inside, the oratory sparkles like a multicolored jewel, thanks to the breathtakingly beautiful stained glass windows designed by Architect Carlo de Santos Tanseco (XS ’84 High School, XS ’80 Grade School). I have spent many hours in conversation with Carlo when we brainstormed and conceptualized each window and other design details of the oratory.

Carlo has designed a total of twenty-one original and unique-looking windows, each as meaningful as colorful. Thirteen of the windows are located on the upper section of the walls, while the other eight are at eye level. The windows in the upper section recount the Jesuit story from Europe to China, while those on the ground floor focus on the principal themes of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Five of the stained glass windows in the Oratory clockwise from top left):

The Incarnation, The Risen Lord’s Lord’s Appearance to His Mother, the Conversion of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the First Principle and Foundation, and the Death of St. Francis Xavier off the coast of China.

Recalling the efforts he had invested in the design work over a decade ago, Carlo recounted his experience:

The process became a six-month immersion, almost like a personal retreat. During this time, I revisited the lives of Saint Ignatius, Saint Francis Xavier, Matteo Ricci, and other key figures in Jesuit history, reflecting deeply on their influence, especially on the Filipino and Catholic faith. For me, the conceptualization phase was a spiritual journey. I spent months reflecting on how to represent abstract concepts like virtues and faith in the design and how to communicate these ideas effectively through each window. This process not only deepened my understanding of the Jesuits and their teachings but also strengthened my own faith. It was a profound experience—more of a “heart and soul-storming” than simple brainstorming.

Indeed, every single window has been a labor of love and prayer for the artist Carlo Tanseco, who shared the following:

Working with stained glass was a new medium for me, offering a unique way to express my thoughts and emotions. It was during this project that I began to explore geometric patterns and the use of color—elements that have since become central to my style as a visual artist. Staying true to my architectural training, I kept the end audience in mind throughout the design process—primarily the students of Xavier Nuvali. I created playful, colorful characters, reminiscent of a children’s coloring book. This approach worked well with stained glass, where solid colors of glass are held together by lead framing, allowing the designs to come to life in a simple yet impactful way.

To this day, each time I visit the oratory, I continue to be stunned by the beauty and rich symbolism I find there.

Here are but three of my favorite things about it:

The centerpiece of the Oratory is the three-dimensional stained-glass crucifix inspired by the Santo Cristo de la Sonrisa still found today in the chapel where St. Francis Xavier prayed with his family as a child. I still recall the very first time I visited the Castle of Javier when I beheld the smiling Christ.

The Light of the World

Tanseco’s rendition, called the Light of the World, is like nothing I have ever seen before. The Smiling Christ gazes out to the world with eyes wide open, symbolic of His joyful victory over death and in anticipation of our own. The Crucified Christ is set against the backdrop of sky, sea, and land, representing His authority over “the heavens, earth, and sea” and His lordship over what Chinese cosmology considers the five basic elements of metal, earth, water, fire, and wood.

The stained glass windows of the Oratory of St. Francis Xavier are all powerful provocations to reflection and prayer. But two of them are my personal favorites because both express beautifully and effectively what Ignatian Spirituality is best known for.

The first window, showing Jesus as the Good Shepherd is—quite unexpectedly— called The Discernment of Spirits. One of the treasures of Ignatian Spirituality is the “Rules for the Discernment of Spirits,” which offers us St. Ignatius’ insights into how God, as well as good and evil spirits, try to influence our thoughts, feelings, decisions, and actions. In his rules, St. Ignatius provides us guidelines on how we can make sense of our thoughts and feelings and how, out of all the diverse voices and noises we hear, we can discover God’s Will.

The Discernment of Spirits

Our fleeting and often-conflicting desires are represented in this window by a scattered and lost flock of sheep facing different directions. For St. Ignatius, discernment is precisely learning to recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd, for only he can gather our scattered selves and reveal our deepest desires, precisely God’s will for us.

Let the prayer sown on the Good Shepherd’s cloak be our prayer every moment of our lives:

“May it please the Supreme and Divine Goodness to give us the grace to know His most holy will and to fulfill it.”

Then, we have a window hidden in the chape’s Sacristy called The Two Standards. St. Ignatius’ meditation on the Two Standards presents us with the choice that we each have to make between the way of the world, which is riches, honor, and pride, or Christ’s way of poverty, dishonor, and humility. It is not easy to choose the way of Christ because it is completely counter to the prevailing culture in today’s world. It is also easy to fall into the temptations and traps from the evil spirit.

The Two Standards

The window on the Two Standards shows two angels surrounding a human person, identical in almost every way except for the half-hidden tail of the evil spirit. We know from the “Rules for Discernment of Spirits” that the deceptive evil spirit usually comes in the disguise of an “angel of light” that can be exposed only if we learn to detect its tail.

Both spirits employ different tactics to win our hearts. But as illustrated by the labyrinth, the evil spirit can reach only our minds; it has no direct access to our hearts. The good spirit on the other hand, can reach both our minds and hearts. After all, only God, St. Ignatius observes, can touch the heart directly and give us what he calls “consolation without previous cause.”

The prayer that St. Ignatius proposes for this meditation may well be our prayer as we gaze upon this window:

“Grant us the grace to know the deceits of the Enemy and the knowledge to follow and imitate the Eternal King.”

All the stained glass windows—in fact, every single art piece customized for the oratory (including the crucifix, the altar, and the tabernacle, all Tanseco creations as well)—are invitations to contemplate God’s presence in our lives and His call to each one of us to discover His presence and to become our best selves.

Thanks to all those who worked so hard to build it, the Oratory of St. Francis Xavier today continues to serve as a sanctuary for seekers, those whose hearts thirst for an encounter with the Divine. More than anything else, this jewel box, with its unique artworks offers a sacred space for all to learn more about God and to grow more enamored with Him.

The author, Fr. Johnny Go SJ, Xavier School President (2001-13) and Founder of Xavier School Nuvali, during a recent visit to the Oratory of St. Francis Xavier.

Fr. Joseph Haw SJ, current President of Xavier School San Juan and Nuvali, plans to publish an Oratory Prayer Guide for visitors in 2025.

FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO VISIT:

The Oratory of St. Francis Xavier at Xavier School Nuvali

https://xsn.edu.ph/about-us/the-oratory-of-st.-francis-xavier