Chennai: Nearly three centuries after his martyrdom, Devasahayam, who converted to Catholicism, is being declared a saint by Pope Francis in Rome on Sunday. Hailing from the Kanyakumari district, he is neither a missionary nor a priest but a layman, elevated to this level by the Church. As such, he becomes the first Tamil saint and the first layman to attain this place.
Devasahayam, a Nair by birth, was a high-ranking official of the Travancore kingdom and it was uncommon in those days for the dominant castes to get converted to Christianity. A royal decree also proscribed the conversion of upper castes. Born as Neelakandan on April 23, 1712, in the village of Nattalam in southern Kanyakumari district, Devasahayam Pillai had acquired various skills at an early age. Very skillful in handling military weapons, Neelakandan was appointed a senior official at the Padmanabhapuram fort of King Marthanda Verma of Travancore. He got married to Barkavi Ammal.
In 1741, Dutch fought with the King of Travancore to capture the port of Colachel. In this naval battle, Marthanda Varma's forces defeated the Dutch, and the commander of the Dutch army, Benedictus de Lannoy, a Catholic, was imprisoned. Later, the king appointed him as a military adviser. Neelakandan, who had been overseeing military affairs, had befriended Lannoy.
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During this time, Neelakandan learned a lot about Christianity and got converted to Devasahayam Pillai. He started treating the soldiers of various communities equally and got his family and friends to embrace Christianity. His treatment of everyone equally was unpalatable for the upper castes and they complained to the king accusing Devasahayam Pillai of treason.
King Marthanda Varma ordered his imprisonment for violating the royal decree. The King also ordered the Devasahayam Pillai to be seated on a buffalo painted black and white and taken to various towns. It is also said that various miracles were performed by the Christians who worshipped the Pillai wherever he went. After being tortured in many ways, on January 14, 1752, he was shot dead on the windy hill at Aralvaymozhi in the present Kanyakumari district for refusing to revert to Hinduism. His body was thrown into a forest and burned by soldiers.
Upon learning this, some Catholics brought the remains of Pillai to the church and built a tomb for him at Kottar St. Xavier's Church. Also, the place where Devasahayam Pillai was shot is known as Devasahayam Mount and the historical records are preserved there. A memorial to him has been erected where he was shot dead.
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The then Bishop of Kochi, Clemens Joseph, submitted a report to the Pope in Rome with some evidence that Devasahayma Pillai had been killed because of his Christian beliefs. In the meantime, on December 2, 2012, Devasahayam Pillai was Beautified. "A man from Tamil Nadu has been canonized. He is an ordinary public figure. He is no guru or king. He lived as an ordinary man. He is married. This is the first time that a person from Tamil Nadu is being canonized," said Archbishop Anthony Samy of Tirunelveli.
Devasahayam’s ascent to sainthood was not without controversy. In 2017, two former IAS officers wrote to Cardinal Angelo Amato, who was then the head of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints, urging them to drop Devasahayam’s last name ‘Pillai’ as it was a caste title. However at the time, the Vatican declined their request. It was only in February 2020, when the Vatican cleared him for sainthood, that they dropped ‘Pillai’ from his name, referring to him as ‘Blessed Devasahayam’.
