Devasahayam Pillai became the first Indian layman to be declared a saint by Pope Francis during a ceremony held at the Vatican on May 15.
About Devasahayam Pillai
- Devasahayam was recommended for the process of Beatification by the Vatican in 2004, at the request of the Kottar diocese, the Tamil Nadu Bishops’ Council and the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India.
- Pope Francis canonised Blessed Devasahayam during a Canonisation Mass at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.
- Devasahayam was born on April 23, 1712 as Neelakanta Pillai into a Hindu Nair family, at Nattalam in Kanyakumari district, which was part of the erstwhile Travancore kingdom.
- He was an official in the court of Travancore’s Maharaja Marthanda Varma when he was instructed into the Catholic faith by a Dutch naval commander in 1745.
- He took the name “Lazarus”, or “Devasahayam” in Malayalam, which translates to “God is my help”.
- He received the crown of martyrdom when he was shot on January 14, 1752.
- Sites linked with his life and death are in Kottar Diocese, in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu.
- A miracle attributed to Devasahayam was recognised by Pope Francis in 2014, clearing the path to his canonisation in 2022.
