The eldest son of John of Borgia, Duke of Gandia, and Joan of Aragon, Francis was born in 1510, lost his mother at the age of 10 and was raised by his uncle, the Archbishop of Saragossa. Placed at the court of Emperor Charles V, the young prince married the virtuous Eleanor of Castro, with whom he had five children. A glorious future was opening up before him when the death of Empress Isabella in 1539 completely changed the course of his ideas. Deeply impressed by the ravages of death on the body of the illustrious princess, Francis resolved to flee ambition, envy and pleasure, the three scourges of the courts. Appointed viceroy of Catalonia, he led the life of a great Christian, careful to hide the austerities he practised from his family. When his wife died, he joined the Society of Jesus, which he had come to know through his encounters with Ignatius of Loyola and his first companions. He refused the cardinal's purple, and for several years was general commissioner of the Jesuits in Spain, establishing new houses there, not without difficulty. After becoming third general of his Order, he did much to strengthen and propagate it. François de Borgia died on 30 September 1572, with the confident serenity of a man who had always done his duty.