DEVASAHAYAM

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Context

A Hindu man from Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu, who converted to Christianity in the 18th century, is set to become the first Indian layman to be declared a saint by the Vatican on May 15, 2022.

About

Devasahayam Pillai, who took the name ‘Lazarus’ in 1745, was first approved for sainthood in February 2020 for “enduring increasing hardships” after he decided to embrace Christianity, the Vatican said.
Devasahayam is said to have faced harsh persecution and imprisonment after he decided to convert to Christianity, ultimately resulting in his killing in 1752.
Born on April 23, 1712 in the village of Nattalam in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari District, Devasahayam went on to serve in the court of Travancore’s Maharaja Marthanda Varma.
It was here that he met a Dutch naval commander, who taught him about the Catholic faith.
In 1745, soon after he was baptised, he assumed the name ‘Lazarus’, meaning ‘God is my help’.
But he then faced the wrath of the Travancore state, which was against his conversion.
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’.