Pope Francis has declared 17th century Indian priest and missionary Joseph Vaz as saint in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Pope announced it while addressing a holy mass for 5 lakh people at the Gall Face Green in Colombo. Joseph Vaz has become first priest from Sri Lanka, canonised as saint.
About Joseph Vaz

• He was born on 21 April 1651 in Benaulim Goa (then Portuguese India) and was ordained as priest in 1676 in Goa.
• Later in 1687, he moved to Sri Lanka and worked for revival of Catholic Church in a period of Dutch repression of Catholics.
• Since then he had founded several churches and chapels, helping revive the faith of Catholics by Calvinists in Sri Lanka.
• He died in 1711 and was beatified by Pope John Paull II in Colombo on 21 January 1995.