Fr. Gabriel, priest of the Diocese of Kottar passed away. Funeral on 05 Sept - tomorrow at the Bishop's House Campus, at 3 pm

Fr. Gabriel, priest of the Diocese of Kottar passed away. Funeral on 05 Sept - tomorrow at the Bishop's House Campus, at 3 pm.

A Tribute to Fr. Gabriel:

Vatican to beatify Indian lay martyr

The Kottar diocese in the state is gearing up for the significant event on Dec. 2.

Kanyakumari:  The Vatican would next month pronounce Devasahayam Pillai, an 18th century Hindu convert to Catholicism in Tamil Nadu, as ‘Blessed’.

The Kottar diocese in the state is gearing up for the significant event on Dec. 2.

The event is expected to draw nearly 100,000 people from across the state.

Forty bishops of the church, priests and religious people all over are also expected to join the celebrations.

Pillai is celebrated as the martyr of the diocese who is believed to have been killed for professing Catholic faith in the 18th century.

Pope Benedict had in June recognized Pillai as a martyr for faith and made him a venerable, the second stage in the Catholic Church’s four-tier canonization process.

“Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints under whom the appeal for beatification of Pillai was scrutinised will be the main celebrant of the grand Holy Mass,” said Fr. A. Gabriel, the priest of the diocese.

The priest had been heading the local committee working for the beatification process in the diocese.

Cardinal Amato in his earlier communication stated that Pillai will be the first Indian martyr for faith who will be given the title of 'Blessed'.

Pillai stuck to his faith till his death and he is an example for the Catholic Church in India, the cardinal had stated.

Along with Cardinal Amato, Cardinal Oswald Gracias and Cardinal Telespore Toppo will attend the beatification ceremony.

Fr. Gabriel said that efforts for the beatification of Pillai started as soon he was martyred and the then Bishop Clement Joseph of Cochin submitted a report to the Vatican in 1756.

Later, the laity of the diocese started taking efforts in a full-fledged manner and formed a local committee called Catholic Club at Nagercoil in 1984 and the continuous efforts of the diocese and the laity have yielded the results.

"It is a great honour that Devasahayam Pillai is to be beatified and we are eagerly preparing for the event," Fr. Gabriel said.

Source: Times of India.

CBCI News: Thousands attend Beatification of Martyr Devasahayam Pillai in Nagercoil

  02 December,2012

New Delhi (CBCI News): Devasahayam Pillai, the 18th century martyr, was beatified  on December 2 at Nagarcoil, Tamil Nadu. Pillai who sacrificed his life for the faith in the erstwhile princely state of Travancore, was declared as Blessed at a solemn ceremony held at the Carmel School on Sunday, December 2.

President of the  Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Angelo Cardinal Amato presided over the beatification ceremony, which was attended by Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, Apostolic Nuncio to India and Nepal,  Cardinal Oswald Gracias, President  of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI),  Cardinal Telesphore P. Toppo, Archbishop of Ranchi,  Cardinal George Alencherry, Major Archbishop of Syro-Malabar  Church, Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, Major Archbishop of Syro-Malankara Church and more than forty archbishops and bishops, hundreds of priests, religious and lay people. Several political and civil leaders  cutting across party lines also participated in the event.

“It’s a great moment not only for Kottar diocese but also for the devotees, cutting across caste and religion,” said Fr Antony Gabriel, who headed the local committee which has been working for the beatification process of Pillai.

“To us, he is already a saint. Whenever we have difficulties, we offer prayers through his intercession and get instant relief,” said Anthoni Ammal, a 60-year-old from Muttom, in Kanyakumari district. She said she has been praying at Pillai’s tomb in Kottar from her childhood and has been blessed with several favours. 

Thousands of people like her eagerly waited for Sunday, when Pillai was declared ‘Blessed.’ Pillai, an upper-caste Hindu who converted 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.

He converted to Christianity in 1745 under the influence of Lannoy, the commander-in-chief of the Travancore army, and was baptized by Jesuit priest R. Bouttari Italus. His given name Neelakanda Pillai was changed to Lazer, but he became popularly known as Devasahayam (God’s help). Pillai’s wife, Bhargavi Ammal, also became Catholic and took the name Gnanapoo Ammal (Theresa).

“Their conversion antagonized upper-caste Hindus,  and King Marthanda Varma commanded Pillai to reconvert to Hinduism. But he refused,” said Fr Gabriel, who has been working for the canonization of Pillai for the last 19 years.

The king ordered Pillai’s arrest in 1749, charging him with treason and espionage. He was imprisoned, tortured and finally banished to the Aralvaimozhy forest, a remote border area of Travancore. Pillai 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. 

Pillai was a Catholic for only seven years. In that short period, he was in prison for three years under severe persecution for his faith. Finally, he was shot dead in the Aralvaimozhy forest on January 14, 1752.

Today Pillai’s tomb at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral attracts large numbers of devotees. Bishop Peter Remigius of Kottar said Pillai’s life teaches “how to witness our faith". "While undergoing severe persecution, he never complained or was deterred. The spirit of evangelization was strong in him.”