Madurai Archdiocesan Pilgrimage to Oriyur - மதுரை உயர்மறைமாவட்ட ஓரியூர் திருப்பயணம் 02.10.2026

St. John de Britto is the Patron Saint of both Madurai and Sivagangai Dioceses. It is Customary to visit the Shrine of St. John de Britto at Oriyur every year on October 02. This Year Most Rev. Dr. Antonysamy Savarimuthu, the Archbishop Concelebrates the Holy Eucharist. The Adoration begins at 9:30am followed by there will be confessions. Mass will begin at 10:45am. Msgr. John Britto Packiaraj, the Vicar General together with Fr. Devadoss, the Chancellor, Fr. Adaikalaraja, the Procurator and Fr. Prince Amala Jesuraja, the Secretary for Christian Life Commission makes the arrangements. Adoration is conducted by Fr. Arputhasamy, Parish Priest of Mariyanus Nagar and Srivilliputhur Vicariate, under the guidance of Fr. Murali Anand, the Vicar Forane takes up the Choir. *Small History* John de Britto, also known as Arulanandar (1 March 1647 – 4 February 1693) was a Portuguese Jesuit missionary and an evangelist, often called "the Portuguese St. Francis Xavier" by Indian Catholics. He is also called "the John the Baptist of India." John de Britto, born 1 March 1647 in Lisbon, Portugal, was the scion of a powerful aristocratic Portuguese family; his father, Salvador de Britto Pereira, died while serving as Viceroy of the Portuguese colony of Brazil. He joined the Jesuits in 1662, studying at the famous University of Coimbra. He travelled to the missions of Madurai, in Southern India, present-day Tamil Nadu, in 1673 and preached the Christian religion in the region of the Maravar country. He renamed himself Arul Anandar (அருளானந்தர்) in Tamil. The ruler of the Maravar 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 Maravar country with 24 new missionaries. De Britto's preaching led to the conversion of Thadiyathevan (தடியத் தேவன்), a Maravar prince who had several wives and was required as a Christian to dismiss all but one of them. One of those dismissed was a niece of the neighbouring king, the Raghunatha Kilavan Sethupathi (சேதுபதி), the King of Ramnad (Ramanathapuram), who took for her sake launched a general persecution of Christians. Britto and the catechists were seized and transported to the capital, Ramnad. From there he was taken to Orur (ஓரியூர்), some 30 miles north along the coast, and was executed on 4 February 1693. The Madurai Mission was a bold attempt to establish an Indian Catholic Church that was relatively free of European cultural domination. As such, Britto learned the native languages, went about dressed in yellow cotton, and lived like a Tamil Thuravi/Sannyasi, abstaining from every kind of animal food and from wine. Britto tried to teach the Catholic faith in categories and concepts that would make sense to the people he taught. This method, proposed and practised by Roberto de Nobili, met with remarkable success. Britto remained a strict vegan until the end of his life, rejecting meat, fish, eggs and alcohol, and living only on legumes, fruits and herbs.