Devasahayam Pillai, along with six other Blessed, will be canonised by Pope Francis on May 15, 2022, at a Canonization Mass in St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, according to Church officials.
Devasahayam Pillai, a Hindu who converted to Christianity in the 18th century, will be the first non-ordained member of the Church in India to be granted sainthood. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints made the statement on Tuesday at the Vatican.
In the 18th century, he was born into a Hindu family and converted to Catholicism, becoming a Christian martyr. Pillai was a court officer at the court of Maharaja Marthanda Varma, King of Travancore, when he was influenced by Captain Eustachius De Lannoy, a Dutch naval commander, who taught him about the Catholic faith. The Travancore state is thought to have executed him for retaining his Christian beliefs.
During his sermons, he emphasised the equality of all individuals, regardless of caste inequalities. This inflamed the upper classes’ rage, and he was jailed in 1749. He obtained the crown of martyrdom when he was shot on 14 January 1752, after undergoing growing hardships, according to a Vatican letter.
His life and death are commemorated in the Kottar Diocese of Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari district.
On December 2, 2012, 300 years after his birth, Devasahayam was declared Blessed in Kottar.
According to sources, Pope Francis will canonise Blessed Devasahayam Pillai and six other Blesseds on May 15, 2022, at a Canonization Mass in St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.
Pillai, who converted to Christianity in 1745 and assumed the name “Lazarus,” would become the first layperson from India to be named a saint, according to the Vatican.
In the local tongue, “Lazarus” or “Devasahayam” means “God is my assistance.”