Last Tuesday morning at Saint Francis Xavier’s Church in Chennai, Father Jesu made a special announcement during Mass. “We have a new patron saint,” he said, his voice carrying across the small congregation of shopkeepers, teachers, and daily wage workers. “Pope Leo has declared Saint Devasahayam the patron saint of all lay people in India.”
An elderly woman in the front row wiped her eyes. She remembered her grandmother’s stories about this saint, a man who lived and suffered just as ordinary people do.
Born in 1712 as Neelakanda Pillai in Tamil Nadu, Saint Lazarus Devasahayam grew up to become a respected court official under the king of Travancore, managing trade and settling disputes. Life was comfortable and predictable until 1741, when he met a Portuguese sea captain, Bento Pereira.
Under the shade of mango trees, Bento shared stories of Jesus Christ, a God who made no distinction between rich and poor, high caste and low caste. Neelakanda’s heart was moved. By 1745, he chose baptism, taking the name Lazarus, meaning “God is my help.” Later, he adopted the Tamil name Devasahayam, carrying the same meaning.
That decision changed everything. In 18th-century India, breaking caste barriers was dangerous. Friends abandoned him. The king he once served now saw him as a threat. But Devasahayam did not retreat. Instead, he quietly lived his faith among the poor and forgotten. He visited the sick in their humble homes, shared his food with widows, and preached a simple message: every person is equal in God’s eyes.
His enemies struck back. Dragged from his home in chains, he was paraded through villages where crowds mocked him. For three long years, he endured torture, whippings, and imprisonment in dark cells. Yet he never lost faith. He forgave his tormentors and comforted fellow prisoners. On January 14, 1752, at just 40 years old, soldiers took him to a hill and shot him dead.
But death was not the end of his story. Fishermen, farmers, and labourers began visiting the place where he was killed, leaving flowers and whispering prayers. To them, he was already a protector long before the Church officially declared him a saint.
Nearly three centuries later, in 2022, Pope Francis canonized Devasahayam, filling Saint Peter’s Square with Tamil and Malayalam hymns. Now, in 2025, Pope Leo has taken another historic step by naming him the patron saint of India’s lay faithful, the millions of ordinary Christians who live out their faith in homes, workplaces, and neighbourhoods.
The timing feels especially significant. In today’s India, with its rich tapestry of religions, tensions sometimes arise between communities. In recent years, stories have emerged of families forced to leave villages in Chhattisgarh for worshipping in churches, pastors beaten for reading the Bible, and young couples hiding their faith to avoid harassment. Reports note over 700 incidents of attacks on Christians last year alone, ranging from burnt churches to forced conversions.
For Christians facing such trials, Devasahayam’s story offers hope. He, too, endured hatred for choosing Christ as a married layman leading an ordinary life. His witness reminds us that holiness is not reserved for clergy. It belongs to anyone who prays while cooking meals, stands up for the weak, or shares food with neighbours despite social barriers.
Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão, speaking on behalf of India’s Catholic bishops, summed it up beautifully: “May our devotion to Saint Lazarus Devasahayam lead us to greater love of God and service in society.” Across the country, parishes are preparing special prayers and celebrations, inviting the faithful to light candles and share their own stories of living faith.
What does it mean to have Devasahayam as a patron saint? Not magical protection from hardship, that would be too simple. Rather, it is an invitation to discover the same hope he found. He teaches us to recognize the dignity of every person, to forgive even when it costs, and to build bridges instead of walls.
Picture a farmer in rural India, threatened for hosting a small prayer group, whispering Devasahayam’s trust: “God is my help.” Or a mother teaching her children to love courageously, drawing strength from a saint who loved even in suffering.
When Father Jesu finished his announcement that Tuesday morning, something had shifted in that small church. The congregation had not only learned about a new patron saint, but they had discovered a brother who understands their struggles, a companion who has walked the same difficult path. In Devasahayam, India’s lay Christians have found not just an intercessor, but a true companion on their journey of faith.
