Person

John de Britto

1647–1693 · 17th century · Also known as João de Brito

John de Britto was a Portuguese Jesuit missionary in the Madurai Mission of southern India. Adopting the dress and way of life of a Hindu ascetic, he made many converts in the Marava country of Ramnad. After one convert, a local chief, dismissed his additional wives, the Sethupathi ruler Kizhavan had him beheaded at Oriyur in 1693. He was canonised in 1947.

John de Britto
Image: Cleetuscls · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Ramnad Kingdom

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). John de Britto. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/john-de-britto
MLA
“John de Britto.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/john-de-britto. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “John de Britto.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/john-de-britto.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘John de Britto’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/john-de-britto (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻