Devasahayam Pillai: Difference between revisions

| honorific_prefix = [[Saint]]

| name             = Devasahayam Pillai

| image           = Devasahayam Pillai 2a.JPG

| imagesize       = 250px

| alt             =  

| caption         = Statue of St. Devasahayam Pillai<br />at [[St. Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Kottar]]

| titles           = [[Martyr]]  

| birth_name       = Neelakanta Pillai

| birth_date       = {{birth date|df=yes|1712|4|23}}

| birth_place     = Nattalam, [[Kanyakumari District]], [[Kingdom of Travancore]] (''Present day [[Tamil Nadu]]'')

| death_date       = {{death date and age|df=yes|1752|1|14|1712|4|27}}

| death_place     = [[Aralvaimozhy]], [[Travancore|Kingdom of Travancore]] (''Present day Tamil Nadu'')

|resting_place     = [[Kottar]], [[Nagercoil]], [[India]]

| venerated_in     = [[Catholic Church]]

| beatified_date   = 2 December 2012

| beatified_place = [[St. Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Kottar]],  

| beatified_by     = [[Angelo Amato]] (on behalf of [[Pope Benedict XVI]])

| canonized_date   = 15 May 2022

| canonized_place = [[Saint Peter's Square]], [[Vatican City]]

| canonized_by     = [[Pope Francis]]

| major_shrine     = [[St. Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Kottar]], [[Nagercoil]], [[India]]

| feast_day       = [[14 January]]<ref>[http://saints.sqpn.com/blessed-devasahayam-pillai/ Blessed Devasahayam Pillai], Star Quest Production Network. Retrieved 4 December 2012.</ref>

| attributes       = Tied up in chains<br />Praying on knees before execution

| patronage       = [[India]]<br />Persecuted Christians

| tradition       =  

| major_works     =  

'''St. Devasahayam Pillai''' (born '''Neelakanta Pillai''' and baptized as '''Lazarus'''; 23 April 1712 – 14 January 1752) was an [[Indian people|Indian]] layman and [[martyr]] of the [[Catholic Church]].<ref name="smcim-814">[http://www.smcim.org/news/article/814?KeepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&height=500&width=800 Decrees of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints], Syro Malabar Church, 1 July 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2012.</ref> He was [[canonized]] as a [[saint]] of the church by [[Pope Francis]] on 15 May 2022.

Neelakandan Pillai was born into an affluent [[Hindu]] [[Nair]] family in Nattalam in the present-day [[Kanyakumari District]] on 23 April 1712.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-17 |title=Devasahayam Pillai becomes first Indian layman to be declared saint by Pope Francis - The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/devasahayam-pillai-becomes-first-indian-layman-to-be-declared-saint-by-pope-francis/article65416757.ece |access-date=2022-05-17 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517165921/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/devasahayam-pillai-becomes-first-indian-layman-to-be-declared-saint-by-pope-francis/article65416757.ece |archive-date=17 May 2022 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Amalagiri Anthonymuthu, "Vedasatchi Devasahayam Pillai Virivaana Varalaaru" {{in lang|ta}}, Nanjil Book Stall, Nagercoil, 1988, 3rd Edn., 2006, p. 15.</ref> His father, Vasudevan Namboodiri, who was a [[Namboodiri]] [[Brahmin]] from [[Kayamkulam]] in present-day [[Kerala]] state, was a priest at the Adikesava Perumal Temple in [[Thiruvattar]], in present-day [[Kanyakumari district]] of neighbouring [[Tamil Nadu]]. Neelakandan's mother, Devaki Amma, hailed from Thiruvattar in [[Kanyakumari District]]. In accordance with the [[Nair]] matrilineal traditions of the day, Neelakandan was raised by his mother in the household of his maternal uncle, and was inculcated with Hindu beliefs and traditions early on.

Neelakandan's family had much influence in the royal palace of [[Maharaja Marthanda Varma]], king of [[Travancore]] and went into the service of the royal palace as a young man. His capabilities and enthusiasm did not go unnoticed in the palace, as he was soon put in charge of state affairs as an official under [[Ramayyan Dalawa]], the Dewan of Travancore.<ref name=Rosario>Rosario Narchison J, "Martyr Devasahayam: A Documented History", Bishop's House, Nagercoil, 2002.</ref>{{rp|55–56}}

In 1741, Captain [[Eustachius De Lannoy]], a Dutch naval commander, was sent on command of a naval expedition by the [[Dutch East India Company]] with the objective of capturing and establishing a trading port at [[Colachel]], a port under the control of Travancore.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.indianchristianity.com/html/NewsDigest.htm|title=News Digest|website=www.indianchristianity.com|accessdate=9 June 2021}}</ref> In the ensuing [[Battle of Colachel]], fought between the Travancore forces and the Dutch, the Dutch were defeated. De Lannoy's men were either killed or captured. [[Eustachius De Lannoy]] and his assistant Donadi surrendered and were imprisoned.<ref>V. Nagam Aiya, ''The Travancore State Manual'' Vol. 1, 1906</ref>

De Lannoy and the Dutchmen were later pardoned by the king, on condition that they serve in the Travancore army. In the course of time, De Lannoy earned the trust of the king and went on to become the commander of the Travancore army, the very forces that had earlier defeated him. He trained the Travancore forces on European lines and introduced new weaponry and gunpowder. As military commander, he won many battles for [[Travancore]], resulting in the annexation of various neighbouring territories to [[Travancore]].

It was during their influential roles under the King of Travancore that Devasahayam Pillai and De Lannoy became well acquainted. De Lannoy's Christian faith interested Devasahayam ; thus, De Lannoy enlightened him on the faith, leading to Devasahayam Pillai's conversion in 1745. At this point, he took the name "Devasahayam" ("help of God"), which is the translation into [[Malayalam]] of the name 'Lazarus.'<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2021-11/india-catholic-church-canonization-devasahayam-may-22-2022.html|title = Church in India: Devasahayam's canonization a "historic moment" - Vatican News|date = 13 November 2021}}</ref>

On Devasahayam's acceptance of the Christian faith, he was baptized at the [[Roman Catholic]] sub-parish church at the [[Vadakkankulam]] village (in the present-day [[Tirunelveli District]] of [[Tamil Nadu]]), where the [[Jesuit]]s had a mission under the Rev. Fr. R. Bouttari Italus S.J.<ref name=Agur/>{{rp|281}} Neelakanda Pillai, his name at birth, was then changed to "[[Lazar (name)|Lazar]]", although he is more widely known by the Tamil and Malayalam translation Devasahayam (meaning ''God's help'').<ref name="kottar-diocese">[http://www.kottardiocese.org/subpage%20new/history.html History of the Diocese] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120511062506/http://www.kottardiocese.org/subpage%20new/history.html |date=11 May 2012 }}, [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Kottar]], 2010. Retrieved 2012-05-25.</ref> Pillai was married by this time to Bhargavi Ammal from Kunchu Veedu, Elanthavilai, Mayicode in [[Travancore State]]. She was baptised alongside her husband as a matter of course. She was given the baptismal name "Gnanapoo Ammaal" ("Flower of Knowledge", equivalent to [[Theresa]] in Tamil and Malayalam). Fearing reprisal in her native Travancore against her [[religious conversion]], she chose to become a migrant-resident of [[Vadakkankulam]] village. Some other members of Devasahayam Pillai's immediate family also later received baptism.<ref name=Rosario/>{{rp|68–69}}

== Orders based on accusations and charges ==

Church chroniclers say that the Brahmin chief priest of the kingdom, the feudal lords, members of the royal household and the Nair community brought false charges on Devasahayam to the Dewan, [[Ramayyan Dalawa]].<ref name=Agur/>{{rp|282}} The allegations were that he was indulging in orchestrating conversions to Christianity by using his powerful official position and the funds of and state as leverage and incentive to buy converts. He was also later accused of treason and of divulging state secrets to rivals and Europeans, because they were his coreligionists. Pillai was divested of his portfolio in the Travancore administration and was arrested.<ref name=bs87222/> He remained in prison for three years, during which time the king of Travancore came under tremendous pressure from the Europeans seeking his release. Orders were finally passed for him to go into exile. He was initially ordered to be seated backward on a buffalo (a public humiliation) and paraded to the Kuzhumaikkad border, where he would be released and could enter into Dutch-controlled territory (or citadel/fortress used for trade and shipping).<ref name=Pushparaj>Pushpa Raj P, "Devasahayam Pillai: The Martyr", Nanjil Book Stall, Nagercoil, 1988, 2nd Edn., 2005</ref>{{rp|41–42}}<ref>Stephen, A.P., "Retham Chintha Chintha" {{in lang|ta}}, Kottar Diocese, Nagercoil, 1975, page 29.</ref> The original Royal order was later altered, and Devasahayam was taken on the back of a buffalo to [[Aralvaimozhy]] border (much closer to the capital, [[Padmanabhapuram]]), where he was tortured by ten different karyakkars (Royal officers), on the advice of the ministers, before being released into a mountainous forest area, on the other side of which was the kingdom of the Pandya kings, traditional rivals of Travancore.<ref name=Pushparaj/>{{rp|42–65}}

== Other traditions and beliefs ==

[[File:Devasagayam Knee Print2.JPG|thumb|upright|A closer look of the rock where Devasahayam is believed to have prayed and left imprints of his knee and elbow]]

Devasahayam Pillai was marched from [[Padmanabhapuram Palace]] to [[Aralvaimozhy]] by soldiers, over the period of a few days. Pillai was treated like a criminal and as was customary in those days for criminals, his body was painted with red and black spots, and was intentionally marched through populated areas, sitting backward on top of a [[water buffalo]]<ref name=Agur/>{{rp|283}}<ref name= Mateer>Samuel Mateer, ''Native Life in Travancore'', London, 1883. {{ISBN|81-206-0514-4}}. Page 291.</ref> (the mythical vehicle or [[vahana]] of [[Yama]], the lord of death in [[Hinduism]]) through the streets of [[South Travancore]]. As a method of torture, he was beaten every day with eighty stripes, pepper rubbed in his wounds and nostrils, exposed to the sun, and given only stagnant water to drink.<ref name= Mateer/>

While halting at Puliyoorkurichi, not far away from the [[Padmanabhapuram Palace]] of the Travancore king, it is believed by Christians that God quenched his thirst by letting water gush through a small hole on a rock, on the very place where he knelt to pray. The water hole is still found in the compound of a church at Puliyoorkurichi, about 15&nbsp;km from [[Nagercoil]].<ref name=Pushparaj/>{{rp|54}}<ref name=Agur/>{{rp|285}}

It is also believed that the leaves of a [[neem]] (Margosa) tree in the village of [[Peruvilai]], to which he had been tied while being marched to [[Aralvaimozhy]], cured illnesses of sick people in the village and around. Many more miracles are attributed to Devasahayam Pillai.<ref name=Agur/>{{rp|286}}

== Death ==

In 1752, the original order of the King and his Dewan was to deport him from Travancore, into the Pandya country, at [[Aralvaimozhy]]. He was let off in the forested hills near [[Aralvaimozhy]]. There, he is believed to have begun deep meditations, and the people from the adjacent villages began visiting the holy man. Christian sources allege that at this time, high caste Hindus plotted to do away with Devasahayam.<ref name=Rosario/>{{rp|134}}

Some people believe that soldiers went up the forested hills and tried to shoot Devasahayam, but were unable to fire; after which he took the gun in his hands, blessed it and gave it back to the soldiers to shoot him to death, if they wished to. The soldiers took the gun back and fired at him five times. His body was then carelessly thrown out near the foothills at Kattadimalai.<ref name=Agur/>{{rp|285}}<ref name=Thangasami>Thangasami M.S.J., "Vanjinaattu Vedasaatchi Devasahayam Pillai Varalaaru" {{in lang|ta}}, Nanjil Pathippaham, Nagercoil, 1989.</ref>{{rp|83}}

It was at Kattadimalai in [[Kanyakumari district]] that Devasahayam Pillai died on 14 January 1752. Pillai's body was later recovered by some people of the region and carried to the church at [[Kottar]], in present-day [[Nagercoil]].<ref>http://www.indianchristianity.com/html/Narchison_Devasahayam.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=May 2022}}</ref> His mortal remains were interred near the altar inside [[St. Xavier's Church, Kottar]], Nagercoil, which is now the diocesan [[Cathedral]].<ref name=Agur/>{{rp|285}}

Since the days of the interment of the mortal remains of Devasahayam Pillai, many Christian pilgrims have visited his tomb and offered prayers.<ref>[https://www.ucanews.com/story-archive/?post_name=/1996/04/11/100000-pilgrims-visit-lay-martyr-pillais-shrine-in-southern-india&post_id=7314 100,000 PILGRIMS VISIT LAY MARTYR PILLAI´S SHRINE IN SOUTHERN INDIA] 10 April 1996</ref>

==Canonization process==

In 2004, at the request of the [[Diocese of Kottar]], the Tamil Nadu Bishops' Council (TNBC) and the [[Conference of Catholic Bishops of India]] (CCBI) recommended Pillai for the process of [[beatification]].<ref name="newindpress">{{cite web |title=CBCI report |url=http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IER20040112120811&Title=Kerala&Topic=0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040830204625/http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IER20040112120811&Title=Kerala&Topic=0 |date= 13 January 2004 |archive-date=30 August 2004 |publisher=NewIndPress.com |access-date=27 September 2009 }}</ref> Some Hindu organizations objected to this initiative, claiming that there is no evidence of religious persecution in Travancore during the given period, and that Pillai was executed for [[sedition]].<ref name="hvk">Balram Misra, "[http://www.hvk.org/2004/0204/9.html CBCI's claim challenged]", Hindu Vivek Kendra, 1 February 2004. Retrieved 1 July 2013.</ref><ref name="challenged">[http://www.cbci.in/FullNews.aspx?ID=545 Lay Martyr Devsagayam Pillai's 300th Birth Anniversary Observed] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512214817/http://www.cbci.in/FullNews.aspx?ID=545 |date=12 May 2014 }}, CBCI, 8 May 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2013.</ref> However, documents dating back to the period encompassing Pillai's lifetime show that religious conversion of court officials to Christianity was not tolerated.<ref name="Paulinus">[https://archive.org/stream/voyagetoeastindi00paoluoft#page/206/mode/2up Paulinus a Sancto Bartholomaeo (1748-1806), ''Voyage to the East Indies'', 1800 (original Italian, 1796)]. He writes: "The king of Travancore threatens with imprisonment and death every nobleman who shall quit his court to become a Christian, and who shall afterwards fall into his hands; and indeed ''Nilampulla'', an officer of a noble family, was shot at ''Arampalli'' because he refused to renounce the religion of Jesus Christ. In the year 1787 I saw four ''Nayiris'' or noble ''Shudris'', thrown into prison at ''Tiruvandaburam'', because they would not [[apostasise]] from the Catholic Church." (pp. 207-208).</ref>

On 28 June 2012, [[Pope Benedict XVI]] authorized the [[Congregation for the Causes of Saints]] to promulgate a decree regarding the martyrdom of Pillai and he was granted the title "[[Venerable#Christianity|Venerable]]".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://press.catholica.va/news_services/bulletin/news/29419.php?index=29419&po_date=28.06.2012&lang=it |title=Vatican Decree on martyrdom of Devasahayam Pillai |access-date=2 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120713063429/http://press.catholica.va/news_services/bulletin/news/29419.php?index=29419&po_date=28.06.2012&lang=it |archive-date=13 July 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> On 2 December 2012, a ceremony of beatification and declaration of martyrdom was held in [[Nagercoil]], in the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Kottar|Diocese of Kottar]] in Southern [[India]], presided over by Cardinal [[Angelo Amato]], Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, acting as [[papal]] delegate. Pillai is the first Indian [[Catholic laity|lay man]] who is not part of any religious institute to be elevated to the rank of "[[Beatification|Blessed]]" (the step preceding the recognition of a person as a saint, as per the [[canon law]] of the Catholic Church).<ref name="bs87222">[http://www.business-standard.com/generalnews/news/church-beatifies-indias-first-lay-martyr/87222/ Church beatifies India's first 'lay' martyr], ''[[Business Standard]]'', 2 December 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2012.</ref>

On 21 February 2020, [[Pope Francis]] recognized a miracle attributed to the intercession of Devasahayam, clearing his way to [[canonization]].<ref name="Vatican News">{{cite web|title=Indian martyr, Devasahayam, cleared for sainthood|url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-02/pope-francis-decrees-causes-saints-india-devasahayam.html |date=22 February 2020|publisher=Vatican News|access-date=24 February 2020}}</ref> He is the first Catholic in India who is neither an ordained minister nor a religious to be officially recognized as a saint.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ucanews.com/news/pope-clears-indias-first-layman-for-canonization/87299|title=Pope clears India's first layman for canonization - UCA News|website=ucanews.com|accessdate=9 June 2021}}</ref> The Vatican announced on 9 November 2021 that Pope Francis would formally canonize him on 15 May 2022. On the fifth Sunday of the resurrection, 15 May 2022, the Pope raised Devasahayam Pillai to sainthood along with nine other candidates.<ref name="Vatican News 2">{{cite web |title=Charles de Foucauld to become a saint on 15 May |url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2021-11/charles-de-foucauld-blesseds-canonization-15-may.html |website=Vatican News |date=9 November 2021 |access-date=9 November 2021}}</ref>

According to the report submitted by the then Bishop of Cochin (under whom the Kanyakumari church was then functioning) in 1756&nbsp;CE, the Christian [[martyrdom]] of Devasahayam Pillai was promptly intimated to the [[Holy See|Vatican]]. Prominent witnesses to his saintliness and martyrdom include [[Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar]].<ref>Gover Nethor Parammakkal Thoma Kathanar, "Vathamana Pusthakam" (Malayalam), First Travelogue in an Indian language & Malankara Catholic records, edited by Most Rev. Fr. Thomas Muthedan, published by Janatha Book Stall, Thevara, Ernakulam, 1778–87.</ref>

In 1984, a group of lay persons from the diocese of Kottar, especially members of the Nagercoil Catholic Club, once again took the initiative to seek the [[beatification]] of Devasahayam.<ref name=process>[http://www.martyrdevasagayam.org/process.html Process of beatification] on devotees' website</ref> This is unusual for a layman, but he is regarded as one who was totally devoted to Christ.<ref name=newindpress/> At the beginning of the 21st century, many Christian devotees were offering prayers at his tomb in [[St. Xavier's Church, Kottar|St. Xavier's Cathedral]] at [[Kottar]].<ref name=newindpress/>

After a series of initiatives by the [[Roman Catholic diocese of Kottar]] and after much deliberation, the [[Conference of Catholic Bishops of India]] (CCBI) and the Tamil Nadu Bishops' Council (TNBC) duly recommended his beatification in the year 2004. This was done following scrutiny of available historical evidence.<ref name=newindpress/> [[Yoohanon Mar Chrysostom|Bishop Chrysostom]] said that the CBCI did not intend any controversy whatsoever in moving this forward.<ref name=newindpress/>

Professor [[A. Sreedhara Menon]] (1925–2010), a noted historian and writer on [[Travancore]], said that no cases of persecution in the name of religious conversion were recorded in the history of the kingdom.<ref name=hvk/><ref name=challenged/>

Several cardinals, archbishops and bishops from India and elsewhere, as well as numerous priests, religious men and women and over 100,000 Catholics<ref>{{cite news |url=http://newindianexpress.com/states/tamil_nadu/article1364366.ece |newspaper=The Indian Express|date=3 December 2012 |title=Devasahayam Pillai beatified |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121206044911/http://newindianexpress.com/states/tamil_nadu/article1364366.ece |archive-date=6 December 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> from all over India participated in the grand ceremony which included a [[Solemn Pontifical Mass]].

Among the dignitaries officiating at the altar were Cardinal [[Angelo Amato]], Cardinal [[Oswald Gracias]] (Archbishop of Mumbai), Cardinal [[Telesphore Toppo|Telesphore P. Toppo]] (Archbishop of Ranchi), Cardinal [[George Alencherry]] (Major Archbishop of Syro-Malabar Catholic Church), [[Baselios Cleemis]] (Major Archbishop of Syro-Malankara Catholic Church), [[Apostolic Nunciature to India|Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio]] (Apostolic Nuncio to India), and Bishop Peter Remigius (then [[Diocese of Kottar|Bishop of Kottar]]).

Devasahayam Pillai is buried in the [[St. Xavier's Church, Kottar|Cathedral of St. Francis Xavier]] at [[Kottar]] in [[Nagercoil]].<ref name="kottar-diocese"/> Devasahayam's tomb was restored and beautified after the declaration of [[martyrdom]] and [[beatification]].<ref>Bishop Peter Remigius, "Circular Letter on the Martyrdom and Beatification of Devasahayam Pillai", ''Kottar Newsletter'', August 2012, Bishop's House, Nagercoil, India.</ref>

[[Aralvaimozhy]], where Devasahayam was killed, is on the [[Nagercoil]]–[[Tirunelveli]] highway. At the spot on the hillock (called Kaattadimalai) where Devasahayam was killed, a rock makes bell-like sounds when knocked with a stone.

==See also==

* [[List of blesseds]]

* [[Chemmanvilai#St. Antony Church|St. Antony Church in Chemmanvilai]]

*[http://www.martyrdevasagayam.org/ Official Website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071210061137/http://www.martyrdevasagayam.org/ |date=10 December 2007 }} ([http://www.martyrdevasagayam.org/books.html Bibliography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080413052819/http://www.martyrdevasagayam.org/books.html |date=13 April 2008 }})