“Sainthood for Devasagayam Pillai likely”

Martyr Devasahayam Pillai, who was ‘Blessed’ in 2012, could be declared a ‘Saint’ by Pope Benedict XVI. Devasahayam Pillai, who hailed from Nattalam, a small village in Kanyakumari district, would be the first layman from India to be raised to the highest level, said Bishop of Kottar of Diocese Peter Remigius.

The Bishop said before one was declared a ‘Saint,’ the person would first be declared the ‘Servant of God’ and then ‘Blessed.’ Joseph Cardinal Martins, the then chairman of the Causes of Saints, had declared that Devasahayam Pillai was a Servant of God on December 22, 2003. Later, he was declared ‘Blessed’ at St. Peter’s Square on June 28, 2012.

Most of the people declared Saints were from the hierarchy such as Popes, Cardinals, Bishops and Priests and from a religious background such as monks and nuns. But Pillai was a layman, an ordinary member of the Catholic Church, by baptism.

The Bishop of Kottar of Diocese had submitted his recommendations to Pope Benedict XVI at Vatican on March 11 in this regard. The Pope said he would consider it. If Sainthood was declared for Devasagayam Pillai, he would be the first person in the Tamil Nadu to get the highest honour, the Bishop added.