National thanksgiving service to honor Catholic martyr St. Devasahayam to be held on June 24
St. Devasahayam and nine others were canonized by Pope Francis in a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on May 15.
India’s Latin-rite Catholic bishops’ council will hold a national thanksgiving prayer service to pay tribute to St. Devasahayam and consecrate all families to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The one-hour service, which starts at 8.30am on June 24, will be conducted at the tomb of St. Devasahayam, the first Indian layman to be declared a saint, at St. Francis Xavier’s Cathedral, Kottar, Tamil Nadu, said a press release from Father Stephen Alathara, deputy secretary-general of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI).
The press release, dated June 7, said the service will be telecast on Catholic satellite television channels Madha TV, Shalom TV, Goodness TV, Divyavani TV, Atmadarshan TV, Ishvani TV, CCR TV and Prarthana Bhawan TV as well as streamed on Catholic YouTube channels.
Archbishop George Antonysamy of Madras-Mylapore, vice-president of the CCBI, will initiate the prayer service. CCBI secretary-general Archbishop Anil Couto of Delhi, Bishop Nazarene Soosai of Kottar and Sister Annie Kuttikadu will chant the psalmody.
Father John Kulandai, vice postulator of the canonization of St. Devasahayam, will proclaim the gospel and Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Bombay will give the homily.
Father Yesu Karunanidhi, executive secretary of the CCBI’s Commission for the Bible, along with seven lay faithful from different parts of India will lead the prayers of the faithful in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Bengali and Badga.
St. Devasahayam and nine others were canonized by Pope Francis in a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on May 15. A miracle attributed to him was recognized in 2014, leading to his canonization
Archbishop Thomas J. Netto of Trivandrum will recite the prayer to St. Devasahayam. A litany will be sung by the choir invoking the intercession of the saint.
Cardinal-elect Filipe Neri Ferrao of Goa and Daman, president of the CCBI, will consecrate all families to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Archbishop Antony Pappusamy of Madurai will recite the concluding prayer and Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, apostolic nuncio to India, will give the Eucharistic benediction.
The circular requested everyone, particularly families and religious communities, to join the prayer service and asked that the event be shared with those with family and community members abroad so that they too may join in as one family.
All the faithful in India will spend this one hour giving witness to the Catholicity and cultural and linguistic diversity of India’s Latin-rite church, which has 132 dioceses and 18 million faithful.
St. Devasahayam and nine others were canonized by Pope Francis in a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on May 15. A miracle attributed to him was recognized in 2014, leading to his canonization. He was declared blessed in 2012 in Nagercoil and the Vatican cleared him for sainthood in 2020.
Popularly known as Devasahayam Pillai, the upper-caste Hindu convert to Christianity was born on April 23, 1712. He was a member of the royal service and was close to King Marthanda Varma, then ruler of Travancore.
The king ordered Devasahayam’s arrest in 1749 on charges of treason and espionage. He was imprisoned, tortured and banished to the Aralvaimozhy forest, a remote border area of Travancore
He converted to Christianity in 1745 under the influence of Captain Eustachius De Lannoy, commander-in-chief of the Travancore army, and was baptized by Jesuit Father R. Bouttari Italus.
His given name Neelakanda Pillai was changed to Lazarus, but he became popularly known as Devasahayam (God’s help).
His wife, Bhargavi Ammal, also became a Catholic and took the name Gnanapoo Ammal (Theresa).
The king ordered Devasahayam’s arrest in 1749 on charges of treason and espionage. He was imprisoned, tortured and banished to the Aralvaimozhy forest, a remote border area of Travancore.
According to church documents, en route to the forest, he was beaten daily, pepper was rubbed in his wounds and nostrils, and he was exposed to the sun and given only stagnant water to drink. He was shot dead by soldiers on Jan. 14, 1752.
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