First temporal Indian to be canonized by Pope Francis next year. Pope Francis will canonize Blessed Devasahayam Pillai, together with six other Blesseds, during a Canonization Mass in St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church May 15, 2022, Church officials said in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.
“While preaching, he particularly insisted on the equality of all people, despite caste differences. This aroused the hatred of the
higher classes, and he was arrested in 1749.
After enduring increasing hardships, he received the crown of martyrdom when he was shot on 14 January 1752”, a note
prepared by the Vatican said. Devasahayam Pillai, a Hindu converted to Christianity in the 18th century, will become
the first Indian layman – a non-ordained member of the Church – to be confirmed as sainthood Devasahayam Pillai was declared Blessed on December 2, 2012, in Kottar, 300 years after his birth.
The statement was made by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints within the Vatican on Tuesday. Pillai who took the
identify as “Lazarus” after Embracing Christianity in 1745, will turn into the primary lay individual from India to turn
into a saint, the church stated. “ Lazarus” or “Devasahayam” which the name means “God is my assist”.
Elphinston Joseph, a postulator, who presented a request for the beatification or canonization in the Roman Catholic Church.
delivered the message to Father Nazarene Soosai, Bishop of Kottar Diocese. Devasahayam Pillai was born Neelakanta
Pillai, a high-caste Hindu Nair family who speaks Sanskrit, Tamil, and Malayalam. He converted to Catholicism after hearing
about it from a French prisoner.
Kanyakumari district, was a part of Travancore’s Maharaja Marthanda Varma when he was instructed into the Catholic
faith by a Dutch naval commander.
kingdom, on 23 April, 1712 Devasahayam Pillai faced harsh persecution and imprisonment after he decided to
convert to Christianity, resulting in his killing in 1752.
While Devasahayam Pillai was declared eligible for sainthood last year, the Vatican declared date of the ceremony on Tuesday.

Written BY: Jennifer

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