Joseph Constantine Beschi

Fr. Joseph Constantine Bascki, the great missionary of 18th century, arrived in India in 1710. He learned Sanskrit and Tamil from Sampaloor Seminary. In 1711, Fr. Bascki began his missionary work in Madurai. As a missionary Fr. Bascki was known as Veeramamunivar. He has contributed immeasurably to Tamil literature and there are 35 literary works in Tamil language to his credit. His great work 'Thembavani' is considered as the master piece in Tamil literature and obviously was an intellectual giant. As a reward to his committed services and works, there are around 17 books written about him, several documentaries and one movie directed in his honour. After finishing his mission in Tamilnad he come back to Sampaloor seminary and became full time professor. The land of Sampaloor was blessed enough to have the mortal body of Bescki buried here and remains of the tomb is kept as a sacred monument of his immortal life.