Named after the church of Saint-François-Xavier, dedicated to Saint Francis Xavier.
Francis Xavier (1506–1552) was born Francisco de Jasso in Navarre; he and his siblings took their name from the castle of Xavier (Javier), part of their mother's dowry. A Jesuit missionary, he was called the 'Apostle of the Indies' and died on the island of Shangchuan, off Canton in China. The church, begun in 1861 and completed in 1873, serves the parish of Saint-François-Xavier-des-Missions-Étrangères.