John de Brito
Encyclopedia
Saint John de Brito (born in Lisbon
, Portugal
, on March 1, 1647 – died at Oriyur
(ஓரியூர்), Tamil Nadu
, India
, on February 11, 1693) was a Portuguese
Jesuit missionary
and martyr
, often called "the Portuguese St. Francis Xavier
" by Indian Catholics.
John de Brito was the scion of a powerful aristocratic Portuguese family: his father died while serving as Viceroy of Brazil (see Colonial Brazil
). He joined the Jesuits in 1662, studying at the famous University of Coimbra. He traveled to the missions of Madura
, in southern India, present-day Tamil Nadu
, in 1673 and preached the Christian religion in the region of the Marava country. He renamed himself as "Arul Anandar" (அருளானந்தர்) in Tamil
. The ruler of the Marava country imprisoned him in 1684. Having been expelled, he returned to Lisbon in 1687 and worked as a missions procurator. King Pedro II wanted him to stay, but in 1690 he returned to the Marava country with 24 new missionaries.
The Madura Mission was a bold attempt to establish an Indian Catholic Church that was relatively free of European cultural domination. As such, Brito learned the native languages, went about dressed in yellow cotton and living like a Hindu
Kshatriya
, abstaining from every kind of animal food and from wine
. St. John de Brito tried to teach the Catholic faith in categories and concepts that would make sense to the people he taught. This method, proposed and practiced by Roberto de Nobili
, met with remarkable success. Brito remained a strict vegetarian
until the end of his life, rejecting meat, fish, eggs and alcohol, and living only on legumes, fruits and herbs.
of Thadiyathevan (தடியத் தேவன்), a Marava prince who had several wives. When Thadiyathevan was required to dismiss all his wives but one, a serious problem arose. One of the wives was a niece of the neighboring king, the Sethupathi
(சேதுபதி) who took up her quarrel and began a general persecution of Christians. De Brito and the catechists were taken and carried to the capital, Ramnad
, the Brahmin
s clamouring for his death. Thence he was led to Oriyur (ஓரியூர்), some thirty miles northward along the coast, where he was executed by beheading
on 11 February 1693.
It is said the executioner hesitated, not fully willing to kill Brito. Brito responded to the executioner, "My friend, I have prayed to God. On my part, I have done what I should do. Now do your part." The executioner obeyed, and St. John was slain. In a letter he wrote to his superior, Father Francisco Laynes, he stated that "When guilt is virtue, to suffer is its glory."
St. John de Brito was beatified by Pope Pius IX
on August 21, 1853. He was later canonized by Pope Pius XII
on June 22, 1947. St. John de Brito's feast day is February 4.
, there is a seventh-grade class named after him. (7-De Brito).
In the Ateneo de Davao University
, there are sections of the high school (from first year to fourth year) that are named after him. (1-De Brito; 2-De Brito; 3-De Brito; 4-De Brito)
In the Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan, There is a section in 3rd year named after him. (3-Brito)
In Yogyakarta
, Indonesia
, there is a school named after him (SMA Kolese De Britto).
One of the four houses in the prestigious Jesuit school, St. Xavier's, Calcutta, is named after John de Brito. In the Campion School of Mumbai, India, there is a house named after Brito (Britto House). The other two houses are named for St. Francis Xavier (Xavier House) and St. Ignatius Loyola (Loyola House).
St Britto High School in Goa
, India, is named after Brito as he lived in Goa for 7 months to complete his theological studies at St Paul's College
in Old Goa. The school is administered by the Jesuits.
St. John de Brito is the patron Saint (referred as Pathukavul) of Sakthikulangara Parish under Kollam Diocese, Kerala
, India. Every year the Feast of St John is celebrated in Sakthikulanagara with a big procession (prathikshanam). The St John De Britto Anglo-Indian High School
is named after him.
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, on March 1, 1647 – died at Oriyur
Oriyur
Oriyur is a small village located in Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu, India. It is 35 kilometers from Devakottai, Sivagangai.It is a Christian pilgrim center, as it is home to the martyrdom of St. John de Britto, a Portuguese Jesuit better known as ‘Arulanandar’ in Tamil. It was in this place...
(ஓரியூர்), Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, on February 11, 1693) was a Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
Jesuit missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
and martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
, often called "the Portuguese St. Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier, born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta was a pioneering Roman Catholic missionary born in the Kingdom of Navarre and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. He was a student of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and one of the first seven Jesuits, dedicated at Montmartre in 1534...
" by Indian Catholics.
John de Brito was the scion of a powerful aristocratic Portuguese family: his father died while serving as Viceroy of Brazil (see Colonial Brazil
Colonial Brazil
In the history of Brazil, Colonial Brazil, officially the Viceroyalty of Brazil comprises the period from 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815, when Brazil was elevated to kingdom alongside Portugal as the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves.During the over 300 years...
). He joined the Jesuits in 1662, studying at the famous University of Coimbra. He traveled to the missions of Madura
Madurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
, in southern India, present-day Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, in 1673 and preached the Christian religion in the region of the Marava country. He renamed himself as "Arul Anandar" (அருளானந்தர்) in Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
. The ruler of the Marava country imprisoned him in 1684. Having been expelled, he returned to Lisbon in 1687 and worked as a missions procurator. King Pedro II wanted him to stay, but in 1690 he returned to the Marava country with 24 new missionaries.
The Madura Mission was a bold attempt to establish an Indian Catholic Church that was relatively free of European cultural domination. As such, Brito learned the native languages, went about dressed in yellow cotton and living like a Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
Kshatriya
Kshatriya
*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...
, abstaining from every kind of animal food and from wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
. St. John de Brito tried to teach the Catholic faith in categories and concepts that would make sense to the people he taught. This method, proposed and practiced by Roberto de Nobili
Roberto de Nobili
Roberto de Nobili was an Italian Jesuit missionary to Southern India. He used a novel method of adaptation to preach Christianity, adopting many local customs of India which were, in his view, not contrary to Christianity.Born in Montepulciano, Tuscany in September 1577, Roberto de Nobili arrived...
, met with remarkable success. Brito remained a strict vegetarian
Christian vegetarianism
Christian vegetarianism is a minority Christian belief based on effecting the compassionate teachings of Jesus, the twelve apostles and the early church to all living beings through vegetarianism or, ideally, veganism...
until the end of his life, rejecting meat, fish, eggs and alcohol, and living only on legumes, fruits and herbs.
Martyrdom
John de Brito's preaching led to the conversionConversion to Christianity
Conversion to Christianity is the religious conversion of a previously non-Christian person to some form of Christianity. It has been called the foundational experience of Christian life...
of Thadiyathevan (தடியத் தேவன்), a Marava prince who had several wives. When Thadiyathevan was required to dismiss all his wives but one, a serious problem arose. One of the wives was a niece of the neighboring king, the Sethupathi
Sethupathi
The Sethupathis were the rulers of the Ramnad and Sivaganga regions during the beginning of the 17th century.Sethupathis of Ramand and Sivaganga...
(சேதுபதி) who took up her quarrel and began a general persecution of Christians. De Brito and the catechists were taken and carried to the capital, Ramnad
Ramanathapuram
Ramanathapuram , also known as Ramnad, is a city and a municipality in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Ramanathapuram district.-Tourism:...
, the Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
s clamouring for his death. Thence he was led to Oriyur (ஓரியூர்), some thirty miles northward along the coast, where he was executed by beheading
Decapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
on 11 February 1693.
It is said the executioner hesitated, not fully willing to kill Brito. Brito responded to the executioner, "My friend, I have prayed to God. On my part, I have done what I should do. Now do your part." The executioner obeyed, and St. John was slain. In a letter he wrote to his superior, Father Francisco Laynes, he stated that "When guilt is virtue, to suffer is its glory."
St. John de Brito was beatified by Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX
Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...
on August 21, 1853. He was later canonized by Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
on June 22, 1947. St. John de Brito's feast day is February 4.
Pope John Paul II's tribute to John de Brito
During his pastoral visit to India in 1986, Pope John Paul II honored John Brito at a solemn Mass he celebrated on the feast day of the Saint, February 4: "Saint John de Britto", said the Pope, "whom we are remembering in today’s liturgical celebration, was born in Lisbon in 1647. After entering the Society of Jesus he followed the footsteps of Saint Francis Xavier to India where he chose to work for the humble and needy in what was then called the Madurai Mission. His patient labours, selfless zeal and genuine love for the poor won for him their confidence. Like Jesus he was "a sign of contradiction" and his success created jealousy and opposition. As a result, John de Britto died a martyr on 11 February 1693, bearing witness to Christ."John de Brito honored in several countries
In the Ateneo de Manila UniversityAteneo de Manila University
The Ateneo de Manila University is a private teaching and research university run by the Society of Jesus in the Philippines. It began in 1859 when the City of Manila handed control of the Escuela Municipal de Manila in Intramuros, Manila, to the Jesuits...
, there is a seventh-grade class named after him. (7-De Brito).
In the Ateneo de Davao University
Ateneo de Davao University
The Ateneo de Davao University is a private and research Catholic university administered by the Society of Jesus in Southern Mindanao in the Philippines. It was established in 1948...
, there are sections of the high school (from first year to fourth year) that are named after him. (1-De Brito; 2-De Brito; 3-De Brito; 4-De Brito)
In the Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan, There is a section in 3rd year named after him. (3-Brito)
In Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta (city)
Yogyakarta is a city in the Yogyakarta Special Region, Indonesia. It is renowned as a centre of classical Javanese fine art and culture such as batik, ballet, drama, music, poetry, and puppet shows. Yogyakarta was the Indonesian capital during the Indonesian National Revolution from 1945 to...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, there is a school named after him (SMA Kolese De Britto).
One of the four houses in the prestigious Jesuit school, St. Xavier's, Calcutta, is named after John de Brito. In the Campion School of Mumbai, India, there is a house named after Brito (Britto House). The other two houses are named for St. Francis Xavier (Xavier House) and St. Ignatius Loyola (Loyola House).
St Britto High School in Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
, India, is named after Brito as he lived in Goa for 7 months to complete his theological studies at St Paul's College
Saint Paul's College, Goa
St. Paul's College was a Jesuit college founded circa 1542 at Old Goa. It was once the main Jesuit institution in India. It housed the first printing press in India, having published the first books in 1556...
in Old Goa. The school is administered by the Jesuits.
St. John de Brito is the patron Saint (referred as Pathukavul) of Sakthikulangara Parish under Kollam Diocese, Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, India. Every year the Feast of St John is celebrated in Sakthikulanagara with a big procession (prathikshanam). The St John De Britto Anglo-Indian High School
St John De Britto Anglo-Indian High School
St. John De Britto Anglo-Indian High School is a secondary school in Fort Cochin, Kerala, India. The school is named after John de Brito, a 17th century Portuguese Jesuit missionary and martyr.-Sport:...
is named after him.
See also
Madurai Nayak DynastyMadurai Nayak Dynasty
The Madurai Nayaks or Nayak Dynasty of Madurai were rulers of a region comprising most of modern-day Tamil Nadu, India, with Madurai as their capital...
External links
- St. John de Brito, S. J.
- Saint of the Day at St. Patrick Catholic Church