Saint Joseph Vaz, born on 21 April 1651 in Benaulim Goa (India) was an Oratorian priest and missionary in Ceylon (Sri Lanka). He entered Ceylon when the Dutch ruled and they had imposed Calvinism as the official religion. He travelled throughout the island bringing the Eucharist and the Sacraments to groups of Catholics. Later in his mission, he found shelter in the kingdom of Kandy where he was able to work freely. By the time of his death, Fr. Vaz managed to rebuild the Catholic Church on the Island.
As a result of his work, Fr. Vaz is known as the Apostle of Ceylon. On 21 January 1995, he was beatified by Pope John Paul II, in Colombo. He was canonized on 14 January 2015 by Pope Francis in an open-air Mass ceremony at the Galle Face Green in Colombo.
Vaz attended primary and secondary school in Sancoale where he learned Portuguese and in Benaulim where he learned latin. He studied humanities at the Jesuit Gos University, and philosophy theology at Saint Thomas ‘Aquinas’ Academy.
Ordained a priest in 1676, Fr. Vaz acquired the reputation as a preacher, confessor and spiritual guide. He opened a Latin school for prospective seminarians in Sancoale.
Always devoted to Our Lady, in 1677 he consecrated himself as ‘a slave to Mary’ sealing it with a document known as “Letter of Enslavement”, which he wrote at the present ruins of old Church of Our Lady of Health at Rua de Escravo de Maria (the street of Slave of Mary) at Sancoale. Goans celebrate the feast of St. Padre Jose on 16 January every year.
About this time, Fr. Joseph learned of the prevailing conditions of the Catholics in Ceylon; the declining of Churches. Catholics were persecuted by the Dutch and there were no priests. He requested permission to work in Ceylon. But was asked to go to Canara (Karnataka). He accepted, but his thoughts and heart were in Ceylon. He worked for 4 years – preaching, hearing, confessions, visiting the sick, helping the poor, setting disputes amicably among warring groups. He appointed Catechists as leaders in the communities to teach the word of God and carry out the duties in the absence of a priest.
The men had conspired to kill the priest due to his timeless missionary activities. When they reached the top of the hill, the men tried to slay him. The serene Fr. Vaz knelt down on the rock, a light flashed in their midst and the men could see water gushing from the scene and Fr. Vaz was unharmed. A shrine dedicated to him was constructed. It is visited annually by thousands of tourists and pilgrims and cures for various ailments are reported by the effected faithful.
After he returned to Goa, he had formed a group of priests of the Archdiocese who had decided to live together in a religious community. He founded the Congregation of the Oratory of St. Fillip Neri on 25 September 1685. They established their residence at the Church of the Holy Cross of Miracles, Old Goa. He gave a definite canonical status to this Oratory. He introduced religious exercises and charitable activities and trained its members for the mission. Disguised as a menial worker, he reached the port of Tuticorin on Easter Day 1687 and then the Dutch stronghold of Jaffna in the north. He suffered acute dysentery, contracted from the terrible travelling conditions. Upon recovery, he began his mission by contacting Catholics and hiding from the Dutch. He was taken in by a courageous Catholic and ministered to Catholics by night.
In 1689 he went to the Catholic village of Sillalai, a remote area on the outskirts of the village, Where he ministered to other nearby villages as well. He made this space his headquarters for more than 2 years. He then visited Puttalam in Kandy where Catholics had not seen a priest for 75 years. But they were allowed to practice their religion freely. They had no priest, no mass or sacraments but kept their faith. Fr. Vaz worked here for 18 months and then moved on from village to village. Preceded by Calvinist accusation of Fr. Vaz being a Portugal Spy, he was imprisoned with two other Catholics. In prison, he learnt the Local language – Sinhala. Since the prison guards left the prisoners alone as long as they didn’t escape, Fr. Vaz built a hut-church and later a proper church dedicated to Our Lady. He began converting other prisoners. In 1696, the kingdom of Kandy was suffering a serious drought and the king asked the Buddhist monks to pray for rain but to no avail, He then turned to Jospeh who erected an altar and a cross in the middle of the square and prayed. Abundant rain began to fall, while Joseph and his altar stayed dry. The King granted Joseph license to preach throughout the Kingdom.
In 1710, despite health problems, Fr. Vaz took another apostolic trip. On his return, he fell ill. He recovered from a series of infections and fevers. But was left weakened. He undertook eight days of spiritual exercises prescribed by the Oration Rule, but before the seventh day he died at Kandy on 16th January 1711, aged 59.