.
.
THE FIRST CHURCH
To keep John occupied, Joseph Vaz taught him enough Latin to recite the divine office intelligently with devotion. He also taught John all that was required to become a priest. He called his servant “my brother” and gave him his own surname “Vaz”.
As the rigours of imprisonment waned, Vaz and John constructed a straw hut near the prison-house. Vaz built an altar and planted a Cross on it. He without fear showed himself as a Catholic prostrated and venerated the Cross in public. He would pray the Rosary and recite the litanies of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
On Christmas of 1692, he offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at this Altar. When he found no objection from the Dissawe, he continued to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass from the following day.
People started noticing what was going on in the small straw hut Church. Almost all the Catholics in Kandy had not seen a priest for over forty years. But none of them dared to approach the priest for the memory of the arrest of Antonio Sottomayor was alive in their minds. Eventually, a Catholic, skilled in embroidery, worked out a plan. He made with great perfection an embroidered cloth and presented it as a gift to King Vimaladharma Surya II. The king much pleased with the offering asked what he could give him in return. The man begged the king to allow him to speak with the confined priest on matters related to his soul. Since the king now regarded Joseph Vaz as a devout priest and not a Portuguese spy, he readily gave permission.
When other Catholics saw that the King was in a good frame of mind, they too approached him and obtained permission to visit the priest. Many Catholics visited Joseph Vaz in his prison and participated in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and Sacraments. They also came for the Sacraments of Reconciliation and to baptize their children and grandchildren. Vaz also validated the marriages contracted without the presence of a priest. He instructed those who had no proper knowledge of the Christian faith.
Around September 1693, the king freed Joseph Vaz from the prison house. He was, however, prohibited from crossing the Mahaveli Ganga (river). The boatmen had orders not to carry him across the river.
In 1693, the Propaganda Fide asked Bishop Custodio Pinho, Vicar Apostolic of Bijapur to visit and report on the state of affairs of the Church in South India. Bishop Pinho described Joseph Vaz as a man “totally detached from the world”.
Using utmost prudence in his letter dated October 27, 1693, Joseph Vaz advised his Prefect of the Oratory in Goa, when writing letters, not to reveal to others his whereabouts. He also told the Prefect to send him the letters through the Jesuits of the Fishery Coast; to send them open to avoid suspicions and not to mention therein how he had received his letter, neither the place nor the date; not to write to him as to one whose permanent address was surely known, also not to give him any news of the Civil Government because “our work is only to be busy with the service of God and the salvation of souls”. So, to avoid all suspicions, he said, he was not writing to the Prelate nor to the Inquisitor in Goa..was surely known, also not to give him any news of the Civil Government because “our work is only to be busy with the service of God and the salvation of souls”. So, to avoid all suspicions, he said, he was not writing to the Prelate nor to the Inquisitor in Goa.
After getting the restricted freedom to minister to the Catholics of the capital, people helped Joseph Vaz to build a simple thatch covered Church, which he dedicated to “Our Lady for the Conversion of the Faithful“. At the beginning, the Dissawe posted some of his men in the Church to keep an eye on the priest. Later, when the priest did not show the least disposition to escape from Kandy, he withdrew his men. However, the regular supply of King’s ration continued.
Joseph Vaz began his apostolate in Kandy amidst great difficulties. Nanclares de la Norelle, the French Huguenot opposed his ministry. He instigated a few Buddhist monks to ask Joseph Vaz not to admit Christians and others who came to the Church. Joseph Vaz answered them, saying:
“We have an obligation to search and invite the Christians and to see that others become Christians, and it would be a grave sin not to receive those who come in search”.
Vaz devoted himself to the spiritual needs of the Catholics of Kandy. He assembled them for regular Mass and catechism classes. He visited those who were unable to come to the Church due to old age and infirmity.
Many faithful came to him from remote villages as soon as they came to know that a priest was in the city. Due to the dearth of priests for many years the once faithful had reverted back to their old customs and superstitions.
Some of the Catholics who cultivated lands belonging to the temples were forced to do petty chores in return for the holdings. Occasionally, the Catholics employed in the royal household were called upon to carry flowers to the temples and take part in the Buddhist ceremonies. Joseph Vaz exhorted such Catholics not to participate in such ceremonies, even indirectly. When the Buddhist monks complained, the king replied that if Catholics in his service were not willing to carry flowers to the temples, he could dispense them from it as there were so many Buddhists who will be too glad to render that service.
Instigated by enemies such as Nanclares de la Norelle, some Catholics were ridiculed, vilified and harassed on the way to the Church. The rowdies even went to the extent of plucking away the rosaries from the necks of women and children. But the Catholics did not stop coming to the Church.Norelle, some Catholics were ridiculed, vilified and harassed on the way to the Church. The rowdies even went to the extent of plucking away the rosaries from the necks of women and children. But the Catholics did not stop coming to the Church.
On August 14, 1694, two years after leaving Puttalam, Joseph Vaz wrote to the Prefect of his Oratory. In a postscript to the letter, Vaz recommended John to the priesthood since he regarded all men as equal. He wrote:
“Although when he came here, Joao Vaz did not know to read and write, now that God has given him the ability, he reads and prays the divine office in my company”. Then he praises John for his knowledge of Latin, Portuguese (negredas), Tamil and Sinhalese languages. Naturally, John had picked them up in his seven years company of Blessed Joseph Vaz, especially in the prison. Then Blessed Vaz vouches for John thus: “Joao has the will to dedicate himself purely to the service of God as a priest to work for these Christians… he has no canonical impediment. Please ask one of the prelates vs.. the Archbishop of Goa (or any other) to ordain him. So that sent back to Sri Lanka he can work for the service of the missions… inform me if this is agreeable and I will send him to Goa. He has made the vow of poverty… his conduct is upright… and example for me… and as far as I know he will not commit a venial sin even though for this it be necessary
for him to die a thousand times.”
John Vaz thus became the first “Gauda” of Goa and the first Dalit tribal of India recommended to the priesthood.
Whenever Joseph Vaz faced any pastoral problem, he wrote them down and later sent letters to the Prefect of his Oratory and to Fr. Henry Dolu, a Jesuit in Pondicherry, asking them for guidelines.
When the Prefect of his Oratory asked him to come back to Goa, Vaz wrote that he would gladly obey his Superior as Christ, but with great prudence he made known to his Superior the risk involved if he should do so. He reminded his Superior that though he was free from prison, he was still prohibited from crossing the Mahaveli Ganga. So, he asked the Prefect for helpers from the Oratory.
Though forbidden, Joseph Vaz crossed the Mahaveli Ganga many times in secret. On February 2, 1697 in a letter to the Prefect of his Oratory he wrote: “… Trusting in the help of the King of kings and His promises…”, he crossed the river eight times to administer the sacraments to the sick and dying Christians, living in remote places.
.
.
To be continued…
← Previous: Part 9 – The Apostle of Sri Lanka in Prison in Kandy
.
RELATED ARTICLES
- BLESSED JOSEPH VAZ: PART 1 – THE EARLY YEARS
(tvaraj.com) - BLESSED JOSEPH VAZ: PART 2 – THE CONFLICT BETWEEN PADROADO REAL AND PROPAGANDA FIDE (tvaraj.com)
- BLESSED JOSEPH VAZ: PART 3 – THE APOSTLE OF KANARA
(tvaraj.com) - BLESSED JOSEPH VAZ: PART 4 – PERSECUTION OF CATHOLICS IN CEYLON BY THE DUTCH (tvaraj.com)
- BLESSED JOSEPH VAZ: PART 5 – TRAVEL TO CEYLON (SRI LANKA) tvaraj.com)
- BLESSED JOSEPH VAZ: PART 6 – THE APOSTLE OF SRI LANKA IN JAFFNAPATTINAM (tvaraj.com)
- BLESSED JOSEPH VAZ: PART 7 – THE APOSTLE OF SRI LANKA IN PUTTALAM (tvaraj.com)
- BLESSED JOSEPH VAZ: PART 8 – THE APOSTLE OF SRI LANKA ARRESTED AT WEUDA ON THE WAY TO KANDY (tvaraj.com)
- BLESSED JOSEPH VAZ: PART 9 – THE APOSTLE OF SRI LANKA IN PRISON IN KANDY (tvaraj.com)
- Joseph Vaz (en.wikipedia.org)
- BLESSED JOSEPH VAZ (josephnaikvaz.org)
- Blessed Joseph Vaz (newadvent.org)
- “Without the Blessed Vaz, there would be no priest on the island”(asianews.it)
- The relevance of Blessed Joseph Vaz to the evangelization of Asia today (oratoriosanfilippo.org)
- Bl. Joseph Vaz, first saint to Sri Lanka (en.radiovaticana.va)
- The Apostle of Sri Lanka: Blessed Joseph Vaz (1651-1711)
(sspxasia.com) - Kingdom of Kandy (en.wikipedia.org)
- APOSTOLATE IN KANDY (blessedjosephvaz.org)
- KANDY AND ITS STRUGGLE WITH EUROPEAN POWERS
- (britannica.com)
- Pope Francis lauds first Sri Lankan saint’s ‘undivided love for God’ (catholicnewsagency.com)
.
.
.
Filed under: #WPLongform, Catholic, Catholic Church, Ceylon, Christianity, Christians, Food for Thought, French, History, India, Jaffna, Kandy, Post A Day 2014, Sri Lanka, This is Life, tvaraj Tagged: #WPLongform, Antonio Sottomayor, Catholic Church, Christianity, Dutch, Food for Thought, French, Goa, History of Sri Lanka, Huguenot, India, Kandy, King Vimaladharmasurya II, Kingdom of Kandy, Maha Nuwara, Mahanuwara, Mahanuwara Rajadhaniya, Mahaveli Ganga, Nanclares de la Norelle, Nuwara, Portuguese, postaday, Puttalam, Saint Joseph Vaz, This is life, tvaraj
