Within this historical framework, Mgr. Mathias’s visionary initiative to found and nurture the Sacred Heart Seminary is particularly noteworthy, as it aimed to secure apostolic workers for the dioceses of South India during challenging times. This endeavor adds undeniable historical relevance to the research. Furthermore, the government restrictions on the entry of foreign missionaries into India would have severely impacted the Church, had there not been a cadre of locally trained Indian priests ready to step in.
In addition to its historical significance, the academic credibility of this work is bolstered by extensive research conducted across a significant number of historical archives (31) and libraries (15), both in India and abroad.
Hendry Selvaraj Dominic, born in 1981, is a Catholic priest with a doctorate in Church History, awarded in 2020 from the Gregorian Pontifical University in Rome. He hails from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, and belongs to the Salesians of Don Bosco. He has been a member of the Association of Scholars of Salesian History (ACSSA) and joined the Salesian Institute of History in Rome, both since 2019. He has been, since 2023, a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal, Ricerche Storiche Salesiane (Salesian Historical Researches). He teaches Church History at the Salesian Pontifical University in Rome and at the Don Bosco Theological Centre in Chennai.
LAS Publishing, 481 pages
