A five-year-old boy found alone at a railway station in Kerala, southern India, 28 years ago has been ordained a Catholic priest, completing a journey from childhood vulnerability to a vocation of service.
Fr. Vivek Martin, now a priest of the Diocese of Jhansi in northern India, was found at Shoranur railway station with no family member beside him. His only request to those who came to his aid was simple: “Brother, I want to study.”
His life changed when Jesus Youth member Rexy D’Cruz encountered him at the station. With legal permission, Rexy and his friends, Patrick, Jose, Rajesh and Tony, opened their homes to vulnerable children, providing them with education, security and a family-like environment.
Vivek spent several formative years with Patrick and his wife, Manu. He excelled in school and eventually became his Class 10 school leader.
After completing Class 10, Vivek expressed his desire to become a priest. Although he was initially advised to wait, he completed his higher secondary education before entering the seminary of the Diocese of Jhansi.
His journey took him from the Attappady hills of Kerala to Kochi and eventually to Jhansi, in Uttar Pradesh, more than 2,000 kilometers away.
Before entering seminary formation, Vivek worked as an ambulance driver and caregiver at Sneha Theeram in Aluva, Kerala, a ministry serving people affected by HIV under the guidance of Camillian priests. The experience deepened his understanding of suffering, compassion and service.
Bishop Wilfred Moras of Jhansi ordained Fr. Vivek on August 16. He celebrated his first Mass on August 24 at Infant Jesus Church, Thundathinkadavu, in the Archdiocese of Verapoly.
His vocation is also being seen as a testament to the impact of providing vulnerable children with education, care and a stable family environment. Two people raised under Rexy’s care have become priests, while two others are currently seminarians.
Bipracharan Nayak, former president of the Kandhamal Survivors Association, said Fr. Vivek’s journey demonstrates how compassion and education can transform a child’s future.
“No child should ever be defined by the circumstances of his beginning,” Nayak said. “When compassion gives a child dignity, education gives him opportunity, and faith gives him purpose, even a life that begins in abandonment can become a life of service.”
Sr. Goreti Nayak, a member of the Daughters of St. Anne from West Bengal, said Fr. Vivek’s story demonstrates that every child has dignity and a purpose.
“A little boy who once stood alone on a railway platform was embraced by people who saw his dignity before they saw his difficulties,” Sr. Goreti said. “Today, he stands at the altar, not as a symbol of what he lost, but as a witness to what love, education, compassion and faith can build.”
For Fr. Vivek, the journey from a railway platform to the altar has become a call to accompany others experiencing loneliness and suffering.
His story shows how an act of compassion toward a vulnerable child can change a life and, in time, help reveal a vocation.
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