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.