Br.Joseph Thamby, a perpetual Franciscan teritary born in Pondicheri to Savary Muthu and Annalmalai made his home Pedavutapally in 1939. He was doing the work of evangelization through preaching and healing ministry. He built a hut close to the Church and lived there till the end of his life in prayer and austerity. He converted a good many people to Christianity. His simplicity and piety was so outstanding that he attrached much attention. He seemed to have possessed the power of healing and extra-ordinary gifts of bi-location and the stigmata. Since his death in 1945, he is venerated as a holy man and people irrespective of caste, creed and status, flock to his tomb especially on the commemoration of his death from 13-15 January.

 

Taking into account, the steady growth in the number of pilgrims in these years to the shrine of Br.Joseph Thamby, and the great desire of his devotees to see him raised to the veneration at the altar, Marymatha Capuchin Province, with the advice and support of the local Ordinary and the encourgement of the APBC, has taken up the initiative to introduce the Cause of Beatification/ Canonization of Br. Joseph Thamby. Hence, he is declared 'Servant of God' on 24 June 2007 and thus Br.Joseph Thamby's Cause of the Beatifaiction is inaugurated.