Devasahayam Pillai

Among them is Indian martyr, Blessed Lazarus, called Devasahayam, an 18th-century Hindu married man who converted to Catholicism. A decree acknowledged a miracle through his intercession that cleared him for sainthood. Born on April 23, 1712, as Neelakanda Pillai, in the village of Nattalam, Devasahayam served in the palace of southern India’s Hindu kingdom of Travancore, which stretched from what is Kanyakumari District today, right up to Cochin in Kerala state. At Baptism in 1745, he assumed the name 'Lazarus' or 'Devasahayam' in the local language, meaning ‘God is my help’. However, his conversion did not go well with the heads of his native religion. False charges of treason and espionage were brought against him and he was divested of his post in the royal administration. He was imprisoned and subjected to harsh persecution. A Catholic for only seven years, he was shot dead in the Aralvaimozhy forest on January 14, 1752. Sites linked with his life and martyrdom are in Kottar Diocese, in Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu state. His tomb at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral in Nagercoil attracts large numbers of devotees. Devasahayam was declared Blessed on December 2, 2012, in Kottar, 300 years after his birth. In remarks that day during the midday “Angelus” prayer in the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI recalled Devasahayam as “faithful layman”. He urged Christians to “join in the joy of the Church in India and pray that the new Blessed may sustain the faith of the Christians of that large and noble country.” Pope Francis also acknowledged a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Maria Francesca di Gesù (born: Anna Maria Rubatto), that clears her for canonization. The foundress of the Capuchin Tertiary Sisters of Loano was born in Carmagnola (Italy) on February 14, 1844, and died in Montevideo (Uruguay) on August 6, 1904.