Constanzo Beschi

Constanzo Beschi, also known under his Tamil name of Vīramāmunivar (Tamil: வீரமாமுனிவர்) or Constantine Joseph Beschi (in English) (8 November 1680 – 4 Feb 1742) was an Italian Jesuit priest, missionary in South India, and renowned poet in the Tamil language.

Born in Castiglione delle Stiviere, in the Duchy of Mantua, 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 Madurai mission 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.

During the first six years, he worked as missionary in Elakurichy (ஏலாக்குறிச்சி), a town near Tiruvaiyaru. Other churches built by him are Vyagula Matha Church at Thanjavur and another church at Palliyeri Village near Thanjavur. Then he served as parish priest in Kamanayakkanpatti one of the oldest mission centres in Tamil Nadu. Also 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 thanks to the influence of a Hindu friend. The hostility of local kings prevented him from visiting Christian communities. This gave him more time to master the Tamil language in which he soon showed great proficiency.

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