St Joseph Vaz

Word for the day

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”” Isaiah 52:7

Life

Joseph Vaz was born on 21 April 1651 in Goa, at Benaulim, into a Catholic Konkani family. He studied with the Jesuits and at the Dominican academy in Goa, and was ordained priest in 1676. He was known for his preaching and his care for the poor, and he made a personal act of consecration to Mary as her servant.

In 1681 he was sent to Kanara, around Mangalore, where Catholics were divided by a painful dispute between two Church jurisdictions. Joseph worked patiently for peace and for the good of the people. On his return to Goa he joined a new community of Goan priests following the way of life of St Philip Neri, the Oratory of the Holy Cross of Miracles, and became its superior.

He learned that the Catholics of Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, had been left without priests: the Dutch rulers of the coast were Calvinists and forbade Catholic worship. In 1686 he left Goa secretly with a companion, travelling as a poor labourer, and reached Jaffna in 1687. He went from village to village at night, hearing confessions, celebrating Mass in hiding and strengthening the faithful. In 1692 he went to Kandy, the capital of the independent Sinhala kingdom, where he was imprisoned for some time as a suspected spy.

After his release he was allowed to work in the kingdom of Kandy. He cared for the sick during a smallpox epidemic, wrote and adapted prayers and catechisms in Sinhala and Tamil with his companions, and brought other priests from the Goan Oratory. He died at Kandy on 16 January 1711, having rebuilt the Catholic Church on the island. He was beatified in Colombo in 1995 by Pope John Paul II and canonised in Colombo on 14 January 2015 by Pope Francis.

Lessons

Going where no one goes

He went to a people without priests at great risk.

Peacemaker

In Kanara he worked to heal division among Catholics.

The Gospel in the people's language

He used Sinhala and Tamil to teach the faith.

Service of the sick

He cared for the dying during an epidemic.

Stories

The disguised priest (history)

To enter Ceylon unnoticed, Joseph travelled as a poor labourer and moved at night from one Catholic family to another, carrying what he needed for Mass.

Prisoner in Kandy (history)

In 1692 he was arrested in the kingdom of Kandy as a suspected Portuguese spy and held for a time. He used the period to learn Sinhala and to pray, and was later allowed to work freely.

Rain in the drought (tradition)

Accounts preserved by the Oratorians tell that during a severe drought in Kandy Joseph prayed publicly and rain fell, and that after this the king allowed him to preach.

Homily

1. Feet that bring good news

He walked from village to village for Christ.

2. A shepherd for the abandoned

He went to Catholics left without priests.

3. An Indian missionary

A son of Goa became the apostle of a neighbouring land.

Dear friends, St Joseph Vaz was a priest from Goa, a son of our own land. He could have stayed at home, respected and comfortable. But he heard that the Catholics of Ceylon had been left for years without priests, because the rulers there forbade Catholic worship.

So in 1686 he left secretly, dressed as a poor labourer, and crossed to the island. He walked from village to village at night, celebrating Mass in hiding, hearing confessions and baptising children. The prophet says: how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace (Isaiah 52:7). Joseph's tired feet were beautiful in God's eyes.

He was arrested and imprisoned as a spy. He did not give up. He learned the people's language, cared for the sick in an epidemic, and gave them prayers and teaching in Sinhala and Tamil. When he died in 1711, the Church of Sri Lanka was alive again.

Joseph Vaz reminds us that India is not only a land that receives missionaries, but also one that sends them. Let us pray for all missionaries, especially those from India, and let us ask: who around me has no shepherd, and how can I bring Christ to them? Amen.

Prayer

Lord our God, you made St Joseph Vaz a tireless messenger of the Gospel to the people of Sri Lanka; through his prayers, give us courage to bring your love to all who are without a shepherd. Amen.