CHENNAI, India \u2014 The Catholic Church in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu is celebrating after Joseph Vijay, an actor-turned-politician raised in the Catholic faith, was sworn in as the state\u02bcs chief minister on May 10.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a historic development. We hope it will lead to positive changes as the chief minister has already promised,\u201d Archbishop George Antonysamy of Madras and Mylapore told EWTN News on May 13.<\/p>\n
Vijay\u02bcs new political party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), which translates to Victory Party of Tamil Nadu, was founded in 2024. In its electoral debut, the party stunned the Dravidian parties that had held power for nearly six decades between them, winning 107 seats in the 234-member state assembly.<\/p>\n
Acknowledging the mandate, five smaller parties withdrew their support from the ousted DMK and opposition AIADMK coalitions to back TVK, pushing it past the 118-seat majority mark and prompting the state governor to invite Vijay to form the government on May 9.<\/p>\n
The Vijay government won a crucial vote of confidence on May 13 with 144 votes, with a section of the AIADMK also voting in his favor.<\/p>\n
\u201cI won\u02bct touch public money,\u201d Vijay declared soon after his swearing-in on May 10, promising a \u201ccorruption-free\u201d administration. Within hours, the new chief minister signed three orders subsidizing electricity for the poor, establishing a task force for women\u02bcs safety, and setting up anti-narcotics units to curb the drug menace.<\/p>\n
Welcoming \u201cthe steps the CM has promised,\u201d Antonysamy said, \u201cWe cannot judge a person in a few days. Everything will depend on the performance. Vijay himself is new to government administration, and his legislators too, as most of them hail from his fan base.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are really rejoicing that we have a Catholic chief minister,\u201d Father Vincent Chinnadurai, spokesperson of the Tamil Nadu Catholic Bishops’ Council, told EWTN News.<\/p>\n
\u201cVijay is known as a popular actor. But his Catholic background came into public attention after the Hindu nationalists tried to polarize the voters, saying that Vijay is a Christian with the first name Joseph,\u201d explained Chinnadurai, who is also the rector of the Santhome Basilica in Chennai, adjacent to the archbishop\u02bcs residence.<\/p>\n
The Santhome Basilica is built over the traditional site of the tomb of St. Thomas the Apostle, who according to tradition was martyred at Mylapore in present-day Chennai in A.D. 72. It is one of three basilicas in the world built over tombs traditionally associated with apostles, along with St. Peter\u02bcs Basilica at the Vatican and the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe people here are very happy, as we are privileged to be the first big state in India to have a Catholic chief minister, and at a time when Christians are facing troubles in different parts of the country,\u201d Chinnadurai added. He is a former chairman of the Minorities Commission of Tamil Nadu.<\/p>\n
With approximately 77 million people, Tamil Nadu is the seventh most populous of India\u02bcs 28 states.<\/p>\n
The archbishop also acknowledged that \u201cVijay is not known much as a Catholic. But during the election time, it came out in a big way.\u201d<\/p>\n
The name \u201cJoseph\u201d stood out prominently on the large stage at the Nehru Indoor Stadium during the swearing-in ceremony, which was broadcast live by major national television channels.<\/p>\n
When Hindu nationalists tried to brand Vijay as a Christian in the run-up to the election held on April 19, Chinnadurai pointed out that \u201che did not back off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead, Vijay publicized a Christmas program in which he made a speech linking himself to the Old Testament figure of Joseph, who looked after his brothers even after they had thrown him into a well, while he was the ruler of Egypt. In the speech, Vijay also asserted that \u201cTamil Nadu is a mother; all children are equal,\u201d promising to care for all, including those who opposed him.<\/p>\n
In the state, where popular film actors have massive fan followings with organized clubs, The Hindu, a national daily based in Chennai, noted in its May 10 edition that although Vijay set up TVK only two years ago, the party was built on more than 80,000 fan clubs established from 2009 across the state, carrying out social work and social campaigns.<\/p>\n
Thousands of Vijay\u02bcs fans thronged the Marian shrine of Vailankanni, known as the Lourdes of the East, about 200 miles south of Chennai, from the night of May 1, expecting him to visit the shrine on the morning of May 2 in thanksgiving after voting.<\/p>\n
The fans waited through the night and loudly chanted \u201cTVK, TVK\u201d inside the church premises before church authorities asked them to calm down. Vijay canceled the visit after hearing about the commotion at the shrine.<\/p>\n
\u201cVijay is an alumnus of our college, and his mother used to come to our college for Mass regularly,\u201d Professor Gladstone Xavier of Chennai\u02bcs Loyola College told EWTN News.<\/p>\n
With Vijay\u02bcs Catholic identity now public, Xavier hopes that \u201cVijay\u02bcs performance as the chief minister should make the community proud.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CHENNAI, India \u2014 The Catholic Church in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu is celebrating after Joseph Vijay, an actor-turned-politician raised in the Catholic faith, was sworn in as the state\u02bcs chief minister on May 10. \u201cThis is a historic development. We hope it will lead to positive changes as the chief minister has already […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":49093,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"bron":[41],"class_list":["post-49092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nieuws","bron-cna"],"acf":[],"featured_image_urls":{"medium":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/49092-catholic-film-star-becomes-first-christian-chief-minister-of-major-indian-state-300x200.jpg","thumbnail":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/49092-catholic-film-star-becomes-first-christian-chief-minister-of-major-indian-state-150x150.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/49092-catholic-film-star-becomes-first-christian-chief-minister-of-major-indian-state-768x512.jpg","Inhoud breed":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/49092-catholic-film-star-becomes-first-christian-chief-minister-of-major-indian-state-860x574.jpg","echo_preview_image":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/49092-catholic-film-star-becomes-first-christian-chief-minister-of-major-indian-state-219x146.jpg"},"appp_media":null,"yoast_head":"\n