António Francisco Cardim

António Francisco Cardim (1596 – April 30, 1659) was a Portuguese Jesuit who spent much of his life in India, Macau, and Southeast Asia. As a young man, he was inspired by Francis Xavier and his mission work in the Far East, to the point that he added Francisco to his birth name. He joined the Jesuits at age 15 and, after his training, sailed to Goa for further preparation for mission work. He then traveled to Canton (Guangzhou), Macau, Ayutthaya (Siam / Thailand), Tonkin (Vietnam), and Lan Xang (Laos). While in Tonkin, he worked with two Japanese missionaries who were later martyred in their homeland.

After a severe illness and recovery in Macau, Cardim was sent to Rome in 1638 to take a position overseeing the East Asian Jesuit missions. While back in Europe, he worked on several books about Japan and the persecution of Christians there, all published in 1645-1646.