Wednesday, September 25, 2024
4:30 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall
Throughout history, the fortunes of political organizations have often been linked to the cosmic patronage of gods and saints. Yet some saintly devotions begin and flourish despite disinterest from the state; such is the case with a Marian figure of devotion in South India, Our Lady of Vailankanni. Neglected by the colonial state(s), she has in the 20th century become for Indian Catholics a figure of devotion and an icon of their belonging as a minority in India.
Brent Howitt Otto, S.J. is the McFarland Center’s Global Catholicism Predoctoral Fellow and a historian of modern South Asia.