Saint Joseph Vaz
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The authors of this article are …
Paul Fernandes,TNN, The Times of India | Jan 14, 2015
Mangala Dilip, IBTimes January 14, 2015
Timeline
1676: Ordained a priest in Goa
1687: Arrives in Sri Lanka.
St Vaz first entered the island country after travelling from his hometown Goa in India, disguised as a porter, The Wall Street Journal reports. Mistaking him for a Portugese spy, the Dutch officials had imprisoned him in 1691, and was sent to the central province of Kandy. Two years later, he was let go by the Buddhist King Vimaladharna Surya II, believing that he miraculously ended a drought by bringing rain through prayer.
Fearing that the Portuguese might try to win back the colony, which was under the Dutch rule, under the pretext of protecting the Church, the Dutch launched a fierce campaign to wipe out every trace of the faith in Sri Lanka. All priests were expelled from the island nation, and a few who resisted even wound up dead.
Vaz, who often ministered in secret at nights, is credited with the revival of Catholicism in Sri Lanka, which in 2015 was home to up to 1.2 million Catholics. CruxNow reports that Vaz converted 30,000 locals in Ceylon and took gratification in serving the poor, essentially re-establishing the Catholic faith in a nation predominantly filled with Buddhists and Hindus.
St Vaz founded several churches and chapels, helping revive the faith amidst persecution of Catholics by Calvinists.
1711: The Goan priest dies
1995, January 21: beatified by Pope John Paull II, in Colombo.
2015, January 14: Pope Francis declared Blessed Joseph Vaz a saint at an Eucharistic celebration at Galle face green park. Church bells rang and lakh of people clapped as Pope Francis said, "We declare and define Blessed Joseph Vaz to be Saint and we enroll him among the Saints, decreeing that he is to be venerated as such by the whole Church."
Pope Francis lauded the perservance and hard work of Vaz, stating that he lived as a true icon of the Lord's Word.
Pope Francis, determined to honour Vaz, who is popularly known as the "Apostle of Sri Lanka", set aside one of the norms for bestowing sainthood: performing a second miracle. Calling him as "an exemplary priest", who went "out to the peripheries" to search out the people who needed him most, Pope Francis said that Vaz set the perfect example of "transcending religious divisions in the service of peace."
See also
Catholic saints and blesseds: India for a complete list, as well as links to the biographies of other Christian saints and blesseds
