Most of the names on our Monaco 40 Over 40 list leave us stunned by their business genius, their game-changing innovations, or their ability to shape industries. But this year, one name made the list for something far deeper. Bishop Rayarala Vijay Kumar, PIME, isn’t here because of wealth or power. He’s here because of the lives he’s touched, the dignity he’s restored, and the hope he’s carried to the farthest reaches of the forgotten.
His story isn’t about status. It’s about service. It’s about a man who has spent his life walking alongside the poor, the sick, and the discarded—never above them, always with them. It’s about a kind of leadership the world doesn’t see enough of. The kind that doesn’t seek recognition, but still leaves a mark on the soul of humanity.
A Calling Bigger Than Himself
Bishop Rayarala wasn’t born into comfort. He came from a small village in southern India, one of ten children raised by parents who had little but gave everything. His father was a catechist by day and an artist by night, carving statues and staging plays to bring faith to life. That spirit of creativity and devotion shaped young Vijay in ways he couldn’t yet understand.
As a teenager, he felt the pull of something larger than himself. When he told his mother he wanted to be a priest, she laughed at first. Ten children, and now one less to carry on the family name? But when she saw the conviction in his eyes, her laughter softened into joy. “If this is your path,” she told him, “I will be the happiest person in the world.”
That blessing carried him forward. From seminary in India to theological studies in Italy, he immersed himself in a world far beyond his village, yet never lost sight of where he came from. By 1998, he was ordained, but his journey had only just begun.
A Mentor Who Changed Everything
When Bishop Rayarala talks about those who have had the most profound impact on his spiritual life, one name rises above them all: Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, President of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy.
To the world, Archbishop Pennacchio is a distinguished Catholic leader, a diplomat of the Holy See, and a guiding force in the Church. But to Bishop Rayarala, he is something even greater—a spiritual father. A voice of wisdom in moments of doubt. A steady presence when the road was uncertain. A mentor whose influence has shaped not just the bishop’s ministry, but his very soul.
“His impact on my life has been enormous,” Bishop Rayarala reflects. “There were times when I struggled with the weight of my calling, when the suffering I saw felt overwhelming. And yet, time and again, he reminded me—through his words, but more often through his example—that we are not here to be served, but to serve. That our mission is not to seek comfort, but to bring comfort. That faith is not about authority, but about love.”
From his early years in seminary to his days as a missionary in some of the most difficult corners of the world, Bishop Rayarala carried his mentor’s lessons with him. They weren’t grand speeches or lofty theological discourses. They were quiet, simple truths, lived out daily. They were found in the way Archbishop Pennacchio listened before he spoke. In the way he treated everyone—from the most powerful to the most forgotten—with the same respect. In the way he showed that real faith isn’t just taught. It’s lived.
And that is exactly what Bishop Rayarala has spent his life doing. Walking with the poor. Holding the hands of the sick. Leading not from a pulpit, but from the streets, just as his mentor taught him.
There is an old saying that a good teacher’s influence never ends—it simply carries forward through those they’ve shaped. Archbishop Pennacchio’s legacy is alive in Bishop Rayarala’s work, and in every life he touches, that legacy continues to grow.
Finding God in the Margins
Some serve from behind pulpits. Bishop Rayarala has always served from the streets. His early years as a priest took him to the farthest edges of society—first as a missionary in Papua New Guinea, where he paddled between island villages in a dugout canoe, learning to speak through gestures when words failed. Then, back to India, where he took on a mission many would have turned away from: caring for people with leprosy.
In the heart of Mumbai, where the world moved fast and left the forgotten behind, he stepped into the leprosy colonies—not as a visitor, but as one of them. He unwrapped bandages from hands others wouldn’t touch. He sat beside those whose families had abandoned them. He didn’t see disease. He saw people.
But healing wasn’t just about medicine. It was about dignity. And in 2019, he helped launch the House of Mercy, a place where the sick and the healthy would live together—not separated by fear, but united in love. There was no private kitchen for the staff; everyone ate the same meals, at the same tables. A simple decision, but a profound statement: no one is untouchable.
A Shepherd Among His People
That same year, Pope Francis called him to something new. A title. A diocese. A staff and mitre. But the man who had spent his life walking with the poor didn’t suddenly retreat into formality. As the new Bishop of Srikakulam, he carried the same mission with him—to serve the last, the lost, and the overlooked.
His impact was never clearer than in March 2025, when he led the 26th Annual Catholic Mega Bible Convention, drawing 30,000 people—many of them tribal villagers who traveled for days on foot, arriving with nothing but faith. And yet, it wasn’t them who needed saving.
For four days, the so-called “disadvantaged” became the hosts. They built the stages, sang in the choirs, cooked meals for strangers with food they could barely spare. The outsiders who came expecting to witness suffering instead witnessed something much more powerful—joy. Generosity. A faith so rich it could humble the wealthiest soul in the room.
Bishop Rayarala saw it happen before his eyes. He had created a space where the forgotten became the teachers, where those with nothing gave everything. And in the process, he reminded everyone watching that true power is found in lifting others up.
A Pilgrim of Hope in the Jubilee Year
As the Catholic Church celebrates the Jubilee Year 2025, Pope Francis has called on the world to embrace its theme: Pilgrims of Hope. The Pope has urged the faithful to “strengthen the bonds of charity” and renew their commitment to walking in solidarity with the poor, the suffering, and those searching for meaning. A Jubilee year is meant to be a time of renewal, of reconciliation, and of opening doors—both physical and spiritual.
There was no question what title belonged to Bishop Rayarala in this moment. We chose Pilgrim of Hope for him because he embodies everything this Jubilee represents. He doesn’t just speak of faith—he carries it to those who need it most. He doesn’t just believe in hope—he becomes its messenger, its servant, its witness. His life’s work is a living testament to what Pope Francis calls “the journey that leads from darkness to light, from fear to trust, from isolation to community.”
Why His Name Belongs on This List
This year’s Monaco 40 Over 40 laureates are leaders. Visionaries. Pioneers of industries and movements. And then there’s Bishop Rayarala—a man whose influence isn’t measured in wealth or followers, but in the number of hands held, wounds healed, and hearts uplifted.
Honoring him isn’t about giving him recognition. It’s about holding up a mirror to the world and saying: This is what impact looks like. This is what a legacy should be.
He doesn’t seek applause. But if sainthood were given not by canonization but by the number of lives transformed, his name would already be carved in history.
For now, we honor him the best way we know how—by telling his story, and letting his light shine a little farther.