Like a monument, the protagonist stands in a dark robe with deep folds on the plinth-like projection of a wall. Francis Xavier dominates the scene as the “missionary to the Asian peoples”, his left hand pointing to Fides, the personification of faith, his right hand extended towards the toppling idols, and his gaze turned to the listeners and supplicants. Rubens has used dramatic lighting – the Jesuit is back-lit – to stage the group of listeners and observers, who, keeping a respectful distance, are bathed in bright light. Standing in the shadows the armoured soldier creates an optical turningpoint in the composition, leading the gaze of the viewer to the actual miracle depicted: in the left foreground deathly pale figures are rising from their graves.