Before he became a priest, he worked in Zaire, Africa, which he had to flee after a violent revolution in 1991.

He said: "We had to get out right away and travelled overnight to Congo.

"Then I flew to Rome and contacted about 12 bishops with a view to training as a priest.

"The Bishop of Leeds was one who wrote back."

India

Father Rathappillil travelled to the Diocese of Leeds in 1994 and worked as a priest for six years, based primarily at St John the Baptist Church, Normanton.

He is now based in India though travels back to Leeds every year.

He has set up a number of charities in India, including Light for the Blind - www.lightfortheblind.org.uk - which cures about 400 people every month.

Another charity offers respite care to dying destitutes. He plans to set up a third charity to cater for mentally ill people.

Already the master of half a dozen languages, Father Rathappillil is learning German and plans to learn Spanish after that.




I could not live without my work. If I could not care for the poorest people in our society then my life would not be worth living. I feel at home there.

I have worked in refugee camps. I have seen a lot of poverty and human misery so to be able to make a difference to that is worthwhile.

I love my life and my work. There's a zest for life in me all the time.



My first job was as a teacher in India, teaching English and history.



I am most proud of what I have been able to accomplish for the poor. Every month, 400 people are given their sight back and this has been going on for the last eight years.

I do not know how many poor kids there are who suffer from poor sight and they don't even know it and now many of them can get further in life because of the treatment.



I love languages and am learning German at the moment. I find it relaxing. I can put it on in the car and listen and repeat.

I can speak several languages, including Lingali, Urdu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam. I want to learn Spanish next.



I had a happy childhood, I came from a large family. Even as a child, I can remember saving up my money so I could subscribe to a magazine about the exploits of missionaries.

I always wanted to be a missionary. In between school hours I would also work on the family farm, which was a subsistence farm.

The best piece of advice I ever received was from my father, George.

It was when I left my home town of Kochi and went to Tamil Nardu, and everything was different.

He told me: 'Son, if you want to be happy, if you go to a land where they eat snakes, you must look forward to eating the heart of a snake.'

He was saying, don't moan so much. In other words, do not say, 'oh, in my country it's like this and that', just appreciate where you are and appreciate the people and love them and you will be loved back.



The last time I cried was when one of my brothers died, which was four years ago. He was called Johny and died from diabetes aged 52. Before that it was the death of my father, George, who died in 1982 at 86.



My philosophy on life is that you get back out what you put in. You smile and the world smiles back at you.

If you give bitter or harsh words out, then that's what you'll get back. Be generous to the full.



I would love to have met St John of God, who was a man who lived in Spain about 500 years ago.

The story goes that he used to carry the dead and dying on his own back to get them off the streets. He would take care of them. This is the kind of work we are doing in India at the moment, although I do not carry them on my back.



Something which might surprise people who know me is that I like the odd glass of malt whisky.


Favourite things...

Food: I tell people I have an international stomach.

Programme: I love British comedy. Things like Dad's Army, Monty Python. The kind of self-deprecating humour and the fact that English is the perfect language to do this in and make puns - it's a lot harder to get that comedy in German or French.

Author: I'd have to say it's my habit of learning languages, so any book like that.

Actor: Charlie Chaplain.

Star sign: Taurus.