Constantine Vendrame, also known as the "Apostle of Shillong" was a

Salesian , image = File:Stemma big.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , abbreviation = SDB , formation = , founder = John Bosco , founding_location = Valdocco, Turin ...

missionary from

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

who worked for the welfare of

Khasis The Khasi people are an ethnic group of Meghalaya in north-eastern India with a significant population in the bordering state of Assam, and in certain parts of Bangladesh. Khasi people form the majority of the population of the eastern part of M ...

, in North East, India.

Early life and education

Constantine Vendrame was born on 27 August 1893 to Pietro and Elena Fiori in San Martino di Colle Umberto,

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...

. He joined the Salesian novitiate at Ivrea on 15 September 1913. He completed his study of philosophy and was sent for his regency to the oratory of Chioggia. He also served for a four-year compulsory military service. After the completion of his military service, he pursued his theological formation while working simultaneously in the oratories of Chioggia and

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

Priesthood

On 15 March 1924 Vendrame was ordained a catholic priest by the cardinal

Eugenio Tosi Eugenio Tosi (6 May 1864 – 7 January 1929) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Milan from 1922 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1922. Biography Early life Tosi was born in Busto ...

at the chapel of the Archiepiscopal seminary of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

Missionary to India

Vendrame arrived in

Shillong Shillong () is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a Indian state, state in northeastern India, which means "The Abode of Clouds". It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the list of most populous cities in ...

on 23 December 1924. At the start of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in 1939, Vendrame and other 150 Italian missionaries were put in the concentration camp. After the war Vendrame was asked by

Louis Mathias Louis Mathias (born 20 July 1887, Paris, died 3 August 1965, Legnano, Italy) was the first Catholic bishop of Shillong who later became the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Madras and Mylapore (1935-1952). He belonged to Salesian c ...

to go to

Wandiwash Vandavasi, earlier called Wandiwash is a major town and a municipality in the Tiruvannamalai district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The town is well known in the Carnatic history for the Battle of Wandiwash. Vandavasi town is also the larges ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

. He came back to Shillong in 1951. He was always busy in preaching gospel, helping needy and bringing people back to the church.

Death

Vendrame died in

Dibrugarh Dibrugarh (pron: ˌdɪbru:ˈgɑ:) is an industrial city in Upper Assam with sprawling tea gardens. It is located 435 kms East from the state capital of Dispur. It serves as the headquarters of Dibrugarh district in the state of Assam in ...

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

, India, on 30 January 1957. On 1 July 2014 the mortal remains of Constantine Vendrame were moved to the Shrine of Sacred Heart of Jesus, Mawlai,

, India.

Sainthood

The process for

canonisation Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...

is underway for Constantine Vendrame.

References