Le P. Pouget ouvrit pour nous la châsse qui contient ces reliques.
622
2022
The turban and the chains
On 15 May 2022 Pope Francis canonised Devasahayam Pillai, baptised in this church on 14 May 1745 — the first Indian layman ever raised to the altars. What this church holds of him, it has held a long time. At Christmas 1888 a visiting priest wrote that the most precious memory of his day here was the martyr: “Vadakenkoulam possesses the turban he wore, and the chains taken off at his death.” Fr Pouget opened the reliquary and let them look. That head-cloth, worn by an officer of the Travancore court, is kept here still, and every 15 August it is set out in a glass case for the pilgrims to venerate.
DocumentedThis moment rests on 8 sources.
Shown in part. The rest of this page is not reproduced here.
In English
"But the most precious memory attaching for us to that Christmas Day is that of the Indian martyr Deva Sagayen, whose chains and turban Vadakenkoulam possesses. Fr Pouget opened for us the reliquary that contains these relics."
What this source establishes
⭐ THE FRENCH NAMES THE PRIEST THE ENGLISH LEAVES ANONYMOUS. The Month says only that "the reliquary was opened for us"; Études says WHO opened it: "Le P. Pouget ouvrit pour nous la châsse qui contient ces reliques" -- Fr Pouget, who is in this parish's own succession and in whose arms Fr Delpech died here in 1887 (great-two-nave-church:7). The same page has the relics as "les chaînes et le turban", and gives Devasahayam baptised "par le P. Bouttari, swami de Vadakenkoulam". ⚠ Windowed: the page names his caste.