Konankuppam: The 276th death anniversary of an Italian Jesuit missionary Fr. Constantine Beschi who is also called Veeramamunivar (Father of Tamil prose) was commemorated at the Shrine of Our Lady Periyanayagi, Konankuppam on Sunday (February 5). It was Veeramamunivar who built the Shrine, hence the memorial was celebrated with great fervour.
Rev. Dr. Susai Mani, OSM who has done his doctorate on Veeramamunivar was invited to celebrate the Holy Eucharist at the Shrine on Sunday. During the homily, Fr. Susai Mani spoke on Veeramamunivar and his works elaborately. He emphasized the ardent zeal that Veeramamunivar had for the language of Tamil and the contributions that he made to it for its growth and spreading. Towards the end of the Holy Eucharist, a small competition based on the thoughts of Fr. Susai Mani on Veeramamunivar was conducted and prizes were distributed.
Immediately after the Mass, Fr. Susai Mani – along with Fr. Devasagayaraj, the Rector of the Shrine, Fr. Antony Raj, the Assistant Parish Priest, and Fr. Jeyaseelan SJ who is doing his pastoral ministry there – paid homage to the life-sized statue of Veeramamunivar located adjacent to the Shrine.
Then, heroic slogans in honour of Veeramamunivar were raised by Mr. S. S. William Jeyaraj, the Vice President of the Parish Pastoral Council and sweets were distributed to all those who were present there. Thus, the commemoration of the 276th death anniversary of Veeramamunivar was celebrated meaningfully and joyfully at the Shrine of Our Lady Periyanayagi, Konankuppam.
The Legend of Veeramamunivar
Born in Italy’s Castiglione delle Stiviere in 1680, Beschi got his secondary education in the Jesuits’ High School at Mantua. After becoming a Jesuit in 1698, he was trained in Ravenna and Bologna from where he requested and obtained, from Superior General Michelangelo Tamburini, permission to be sent to the Jesuit mission at Madurai in South India. Sailing from Lisbon he reached Goa in October 1710, from where he proceeded immediately to South India. He arrived in Madurai in May 1711.
Inspired by what was done in China, Beschi adopted the native Tamilians’ lifestyle in his life and in his missionary work. For example, he adopted the saffron coloured robe generally worn by a sannyasi (Indian ascetic). He visited several important centres such as Tirunelveli, Ramanathapuram, Thanjavur and, of course, Madurai to learn the Tamil language. He met with persecution in 1714–15 and escaped a death sentence. This gave him more time to master the Tamil language in which he soon showed great proficiency.
During the first six years, he worked as a missionary in Elakurichy, a town near Tiruvaiyaru. Then he served as parish priest in Kamanayakkanpatti, one of the oldest mission centres in Tamil Nadu. He worked in the Thanjavur area till 1738 and settled in 1740 on the Coromandel coast where he remained till the end of his life.