Reflection on India's first lay Catholic Saint

Bishop Thomas Neylon, Lead Bishop for Asia for the Bishops' Conference, has recorded a short reflection on Blessed Lazarus, also called Devasahayam, an 18th-century Indian martyr. He was a married Hindu man who converted to Catholicism and suffered much persecution for his faith.

A Catholic for only seven years, he was shot dead in the Aralvaimozhy forest on January 14, 1752.

Image

Statue of Devasahayam Pillai, St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, Kottar, Nagercoil
Kumbalam on Wikimedia Commons
CC BY-SA 3.0

Bishop Thomas Neylon, Lead Bishop for Asia for the Bishops' Conference, has recorded a short reflection on Blessed Lazarus, also called Devasahayam, an 18th-century Indian martyr. He was a married Hindu man who converted to Catholicism and suffered much persecution for his faith.

A Catholic for only seven years, he was shot dead in the Aralvaimozhy forest on January 14, 1752.

Statue of Devasahayam Pillai, St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, Kottar, Nagercoil Kumbalam on Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0