Saint Joseph Vaz

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Saint Joseph Vaz
Feast Day	January 16
Liturgical Class
Patronage	Sri Lanka
Birthplace	Benaulim, Goa, Portuguese India
Death Place	Kandy, Kingdom of Kandy (Sri Lanka)
Cause of Death	natural causes
Primary Shrine	Basilica of Our Lady of Lanka, Tewatte, Sri Lanka

Saint Joseph Vaz (Konkani: São José Vaz; 1 April 1651 – 16 January 1711) was a Goan Catholic priest and missionary of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri, revered as the “Apostle of Sri Lanka” for his clandestine evangelization during Dutch Calvinist persecution of Catholicism. Born in Benaulim, Portuguese Goa, to Cristóvão Vaz and Maria de Miranda, he studied at the Jesuit college in Sancoale and the Dominican academy in Goa before founding the Oratorian house at Sancoale in 1681. Volunteering for the persecuted mission in Ceylon (Sri Lanka), he arrived in 1687 disguised as a beggar, learned Tamil and Sinhala, and for 24 years ministered secretly, administering sacraments, building churches, and converting thousands despite imprisonment and hardship.

Beatified on 21 June 1995 and canonized on 14 January 2015 by Pope Francis in Colombo—the first canonization on Sri Lankan soil—after two authenticated miracles (a 1990s healing from cancer and a 2008 recovery from paralysis), Joseph Vaz is the first saint from Goa and Sri Lanka’s first canonized saint. His feast day is 16 January. Patron of Sri Lanka, he is invoked for interreligious dialogue and missionary courage.

Biography

Birth

Joseph Vaz was born on 1 April 1651 in Benaulim, Salcete, Goa, to Cristóvão Vaz and Maria de Miranda, the third of six children in a devout Catholic family.

Early Life

Educated by Jesuits and Dominicans, ordained priest in 1676, he founded the Oratorian house at Sancoale in 1681.

Occupation

Priest and superior of the Goan Oratory; missionary in Ceylon from 1687.

Vocation

Joseph Vaz’s vocation was missionary priesthood under persecution. Disguised as a labourer, he revived Catholicism in Dutch-controlled Sri Lanka.

Death

Exhausted by labour, Joseph Vaz died on 16 January 1711 in Kandy, aged 59.

Saint Joseph Vaz met his end peacefully in old age.

Significant events

• Founded Goan Oratory, 1681.
• Arrived in Ceylon, 1687.
• Ended 1690s Kandy drought through prayer procession.
• Died in Kandy, 1711.

Significant locations

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Legend

• Birth location: Benaulim, Goa, Portuguese India
• Death location: Kandy, Kingdom of Kandy (Sri Lanka)
• Notable location: Birthplace parish (Church of Our Lady of Mercy, Colva, Goa, India)
• Notable location: Site of Oratorian foundation (Oratory of Saint Joseph Vaz, Sancoale, Goa, India)
• Notable location: Primary mission church (Church of Our Lady of the Snows, Kandy, Sri Lanka)
• Notable location: National shrine with relics (Basilica of Our Lady of Lanka, Tewatte, Sri Lanka)
• Notable location:

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Parishes

Saint Joseph Vaz
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Shrines

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Canonization

Servant of God

Cause opened 1953 in Kandy.

Venerable

Declared Venerable 15 January 1994.

Beatification

Beatified 21 June 1995 by Pope John Paul II in Colombo.

Canonization

Canonized 14 January 2015 by Pope Francis in Colombo after two authenticated miracles.

Miracles

• 1990s healing of a woman from cancer.
• 2008 recovery of a child from brain damage.

Patronage

Saint Joseph Vaz is patron of Sri Lanka.

Feast day

January 16

Veneration

Saint Joseph Vaz is venerated on 16 January with national celebrations in Sri Lanka. Relics at Basilica of Our Lady of Lanka.

External links

• Holy See: Canonization Homily
• Catholic Online: St. Joseph Vaz