(ANS – Vatican City) – Pope Leo XIV has appointed two Salesians of Don Bosco to serve in two bodies of the Roman Curia: Salesian Bishop George Pallipparambil, who has led the Diocese of Miao in India, has been appointed to the Pontifical International Council for Catechesis, while Fr. Kevin Otieno Mwandha, Vice Rector of the Pontifical Salesian University in Rome, has been appointed a Consultor to the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
Bishop George Pallipparambil Joins the Council for Catechesis
The appointment was formally communicated to Bishop Pallipparambil (P.K. George) in a letter dated July 30, signed by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, and countersigned by Bishop Graham Bell, Undersecretary of the Section for Catechesis within the same Dicastery.
Bishop of the Diocese of Miao since his episcopal ordination in 2005, Bishop Pallipparambil now begins a five-year term on the International Council for Catechesis, bringing his long pastoral experience on India’s northeastern frontier to the Church’s global deliberations.
The Diocese of Miao covers a vast, remote, and mountainous area of Arunachal Pradesh, including communities situated along the international borders with Myanmar and China. The region, home to various Indigenous communities, presents significant pastoral challenges due to its rugged terrain and geographical isolation.
Throughout his episcopal ministry, Bishop Pallipparambil has devoted himself with particular commitment to pastoral work among Indigenous communities, extending the Church’s mission to include education, health care, and social development. His presence on the Council for Catechesis is expected to make a valuable missionary contribution to discussions on catechetical formation, particularly where this intersects with human development and the accompaniment of remote and Indigenous communities. It will also highlight the experience of the Church in Northeast India within the universal mission of evangelization and catechesis.
Fr. Kevin Mwandha, Consultor for Consecrated Life
On August 6, the Holy Father also appointed Fr. Kevin Otieno Mwandha, Vice Rector of the Pontifical Salesian University (UPS) in Rome, as Consultor to the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
Born in Siaya, Kenya, in 1975, Fr. Mwandha has been a Salesian since 1999. He completed his studies in philosophy at Don Bosco College in Moshi, affiliated with the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Nairobi, and his theological studies at the UPS, where he obtained a Licentiate in Canon Law in 2010. In 2014, he obtained a doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome.
Having served since October 2014 at the Faculty of Canon Law at UPS and since September 2018 at the Faculty of Theology, Fr. Mwandha is a Full Professor of Canon Law and Vice Rector of UPS.
On May 31, 2026, the Grand Chancellor of UPS, Fr. Fabio Attard, having obtained authorization from the Dicastery for Culture and Education (Rescript of May 28, 2026), had already appointed him Pro-Dean of the Faculty of Christian and Classical Letters (Pontificium Institutum Altioris Latinitatis).