Devasahayam Pillai (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. Early life Neelakandan Pillai was born into an affluent Hindu Nair family in Nattalam in the present-day Kanyakumari District on 23 April 1712. His father, Vasudevan Namboodiri, who was a Namboodiri Brahmin from Kayamkulam in present-day Kerala state, was a priest at the Adikesava Perumal Temple in Thiruvattar, in present-day Kanyakumari district of neighbouring Tamil Nadu. Neelakandan's mother, Devaki Amma, hailed from Thiruvattar in Kanyakumari District. In accordance with the matrilineal tradition of the Nairs of the day, he was raised by his maternal uncle rather than his father. Neelakandan's family had much influence in the royal palace of Maharaja Marthanda Varma, king of Travancore and 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. Conversion to Christianity 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. In the course of time, De Lannoy earned the trust of the king and went on to become the commander of the Travancore army, the very forces that had earlier defeated him. He trained the Travancore forces on European lines and introduced new weaponry and gunpowder. As military commander, he won many battles for Travancore, resulting in the annexation of various neighbouring territories to Travancore. It was during their influential roles under the King of Travancore that Devasahayam Pillai and De Lannoy became well acquainted. De Lannoy's Christian faith interested Devasahayam ; thus, De Lannoy enlightened him on the faith, leading to Devasahayam Pillai's conversion in