By Purushottam Nayak
Bhubaneswar, Nov 22, 2025: Pope Leo XIV on November 22 appointed Father Rabindra Kumar Ranasingh as the auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar.
“It is with profound joy and gratitude to God that I hereby formally announce to you the good news of the appointment of our new Auxiliary Bishop,” said an official letter from Divine Word Archbishop John Barwa of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar.
The archbishop said the appoint signals the Pope’s “pastoral concern for our local Church and its growing needs.”
He said the auxiliary bishop will greatly strengthen the archdiocese’s pastoral outreach, support its clergy, religious, and faithful, and enhance the mission entrusted to it by Christ.
“I invite all of you to join me in prayer for our bishop-elect as he prepares to assume this sacred responsibility in the service of the Church. May the Holy Spirit grant him wisdom, strength, and a shepherd’s heart to lead God’s people with humility and dedication,” the archbishop added.
Details of the episcopal ordination will be announced later.
The bishop-elect is, at present, the parish priest of Sacred Heart Church, Jatni and dean of Cuttack deanery.
He was born on July 9, 1972, as the first of seven children of Janas and Helena Ranasingh in Kasabasa, a village in Odisha’s Kandhamal district. Three of his four sisters are nuns and the other is a nurse.
He studied philosophy at Jnanadeepa Vidyapeeth in Pune and theology at Khristo Jyoti Institute of Theology at Sambalpur in Odisha. He was ordained a priest on April 18, 2001 at Daringbadi Parish in Kandhamal.
The bishop-elect has a doctorate from the Pontifical Urbaniana University, Rome.
Father Pradosh Chandra Nayak, the vicar general of the Cuttack-Bhubaneswar archdiocese, welcomed the appointment terming the bishop-elect as the right choice with proper qualification.
“He is a very disciplined and hardworking person. A man of prayer and spirituality. Being a local candidate, he will be able to guide the people in faith,” Father Nayak told Matters India.
We are happy to have the Auxiliary Bishop Rev. Fr. Rabindra Ranasingh. He is a loving, caring and prayerful person who can help people to grow in faith.