Saint Devasahayam Pillai

Devasahayam Pillai or Mar Lazarus Sahada (born Neelakanta Pillai and baptized as Lazarus; 23 April 1712 – 14 January 1752) was an Indian layman and martyr of the Catholic Church. He was canonized as a saint of the church by Pope Francis on 15 May 2022. Neelakandan Pillai was born into an affluent Hindu Nair family in Nattalam, Travancore, old Kerala (present-day Kanyakumari District) on 23 April 1712. His father, Vasudevan Namboodiri, who was from Kayamkulam (present-day Kerala state), was a priest at the Adikesava Perumal Temple in Thiruvattar, Travancore, old Kerala (present-day Kanyakumari district of neighbouring Tamil Nadu.) Neelakandan's mother, Devaki Amma, hailed from Thiruvattar, Travancore. In accordance with the matrilineal tradition of the day, he was raised by his maternal uncle rather than his father. His father taught him Sanskrit and Vedanta. Neelakandan's family had much influence in the royal palace of Maharaja Marthanda Varma, king of Travancore, and Neelakandan went into the service of the royal palace as a young man. His capabilities and enthusiasm did not go unnoticed in the palace, as he was soon put in charge of state affairs as an official under Ramayyan Dalawa, the Dewan of Travancore.: 55–56  In 1741, Captain Eustachius De Lannoy, a Dutch naval commander, was sent on command of a naval expedition by the Dutch East India Company with the objective of capturing and establishing a trading port at Colachel, a port under the control of Travancore. In the ensuing Battle of Colachel, fought between the Travancore forces and the Dutch, the Dutch were defeated. De Lannoy's men were either killed or captured. Eustachius De Lannoy and his assistant Donadi surrendered and were imprisoned. De Lannoy and the Dutchmen were later pardoned by the king, on condition that they serve in the Travancore army.