Devasahayam, the first Indian layman to be declared a saint by Vatican

Devasahayam, also known as Lazarus, who converted to Christianity in the 18th century in the then kingdom of Travancore, became the first Indian layman to get sainthood. Pope Francis canonised Blessed Devasahayam Pillai along with nine others during an impressive canonisation Mass on Sunday (May 15) in St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

Devasahayam was bestowed the sainthood for what the Vatican termed “enduring increasing hardships”, said reports. He was recommended for the process of Beatification by the Vatican in 2004, at the request of the Kottar diocese, Tamil Nadu Bishops’ Council and the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India.

Devasahayam was born as Neelakandan Pillai in 1712 in a Hindu upper caste family in present-day Kanyakumari, which was part of Travancore. He was an official in the court of the Maharaja Marthanda Varma of Travancore and got attracted to Christianity when  he met a Dutch naval commander.

In 1745, he converted to Christianity and took the names of Devasahayam and Lazarus, which means ‘God is my help’. Devasahayam went on to fight against caste discrimination and was persecuted and then killed. A note prepared by the Vatican said that while preaching, he used to insist on the equality of all people, despite caste differences. This ostensibly angered the upper classes and they got him arrested in 1749.

“After enduring increasing hardships, he received the crown of martyrdom when he was shot on January 14, 1752,” said the note.

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In 2012, the Vatican recognised his martyrdom after a rigorous process.

Devasahayam was chosen for the sainthood after a woman in her seventh month of pregnancy testified to a “miracle”, after praying to him in 2013. The woman’s foetus had been declared “medically dead” but after praying to the martyr she started to experience movement.

The Vatican accepted this and recognised Devasahayam for sainthood.

The original invitation from the Vatican had mentioned Devasahayam’s former caste “Pillai”. However, after people protested that mentioning the name of his caste defeated the very purpose of what Devasahayam stood for, the Vatican removed it.

According to retired IAS officer Devasahayam, who had written to the Vatican, seeking removal of Devasahayam’s caste name, Saint Devasahayam stood for equality and fought against casteism and communalism. His sainthood comes at a time India is facing a surge in communalism, he added.

Further, he said, according to news reports, that this “canonisation is a great opportunity for the Church to stand against the prevailing communal poison”. He pointed out that the church should have made this a people’s movement, but instead they made it a clergy-centric event.