Detail of A Photograph of A Statue of Blessed Devasahayam Pillai Artist Unknown Date Unknown Saint Francis Xavier Cathedral Kottar Nagercoil India Photographed By Kumbalam On 5 July 2013

Saint Devasahayam Pillai

Also known as: Lazarus; Neelakandan; Neelam; Nilakandan; Nilam

Saint

Post-Congregation

Feast Day

14-Jan

Born

23 April 1712 in Nattalam, Tamil Nadu, India

Died

Shot by firing squad 14 January 1752 in Aralvaimozhi, Tamil Nadu, India; body thrown onto a rock pile and left for wild animals; remains recovered and buried in front of the altar of the Church of Saint Francis in Kottar, India

Canonized

15 May 2022 by Pope Francis; the canonization miracle involved a 24-week fetus who stopped moving and whose heart stopped beating in India in 2013; the mother, who was Catholic and had a devotion to Blessed Lazarus, began praying for his intercession for the baby; within an hour, she felt the baby kicking, tests showed that the heart beat had resumed, and the infant was later born with no complications

Beatified

2 December 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI

Venerated

28 June 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI (decree of martyrdom)

Biography

Saint Devasahayam Pillai, born into a high-caste Hindu family in the Kingdom of Travancore (present-day Kerala, India), lived a life of privilege and service. Fluent in Sanskrit, Tamil, and Malayalam, he was trained in martial arts and archery, married, and held a respected position in the royal treasury. His life took a profound turn in 1741 when he encountered a French prisoner of war who introduced him to Catholicism. After a period of study, he formally converted to the faith and was baptized on 14 May 174

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