led to the martyrdom of Devasahayam Pillai. In 1984, a group of lay persons from the diocese of Kottar, especially members of the Nagercoil Catholic Club, once again took the initiative to seek the beatification of Devasahayam. This is unusual for a layman, but he is regarded as one who was totally devoted to Christ. At the beginning of the 21st century, many Christian devotees were offering prayers at his tomb in St. Xavier's Cathedral at Kottar. After a series of initiatives by the Roman Catholic diocese of Kottar and after much deliberation, the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) and the Tamil Nadu Bishops' Council (TNBC) duly recommended his beatification in the year 2004. This was done following scrutiny of available historical evidence. Bishop Chrysostom said that the CCBI did not intend any controversy whatsoever in moving this forward. Professor A. Sreedhara Menon (1925–2010), a noted historian and writer on Travancore, said that no cases of persecution in the name of religious conversion were recorded in the history of the kingdom. P. Parameswaran, president of the Hindu spiritual organisation Vivekananda Kendra, accused the CCBI of an attempt to hurt Hindu sentiments. Referring to the Travancore state manual, he insisted that Devasahayam was a palace employee who was executed after confirmation of sedition, because he had tampered with palace records and passed them to De Lannoy. However, Catholic records of the time state that the kingdom of Travancore did not tolerate palace officials converting to Christianity. In June 2012, Pope Benedict XVI officially recognized a decree from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints stating that he lived a life of "heroic virtues" – a major step towards beatification – and Pillai was then referred to as "Venerable". Beatification and declaration as a martyr Devasahayam Pillai was declared a martyr and Blessed on 2 December 2012, at a solemn ceremony held in the Diocese of Kottar at Carmel Higher Secondary School Grounds, Nagercoil, near the place of his burial. The Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Angelo Cardinal Amato presided at the function as Delegate of Pope Benedict XVI. Several cardinals, archbishops and bishops from India and elsewhere, as well as numerous priests, religious men and women and over 100,000 Catholics from all over India participated in the grand ceremony which included a Solemn Pontifical Mass. Among the dignitaries officiating at the altar were Cardinal Angelo