Christian communities in Africa and India regularly face hardship and persecution that can be unimaginable to Catholics in the Western World. Maria Pushparaj, a native of India and parishioner at Dublin St. Brigid of Kildare Church, was determined not to let needs of Christians in continents far away go unnoticed.
Pushparaj, a consultant software engineer leader at Nationwide, co-founded the Bishop Iruthayaraj (pronounced EE-roo-thaya-raaj) Foundation with Archbishop Antonysamy Savarimuthu of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India, and serves as its executive director. The archbishop has visited the Columbus diocese to celebrate Mass.
The foundation was named for Bishop Savarinathen Iruthayaraj (1927-2001), who served as the first bishop of Palayamkottai, Tamil Nadu, India. The foundation continues the late bishop’s ministry through education, healthcare and pastoral care.
Bishop Iruthayaraj opened more than 100 schools for children, established rural clinics for individuals who could not afford a doctor, and eventually, a home for street children. Thousands attended the bishop’s funeral in 2021.
“His body remains incorrupt 25 years after his death, and many people continue to report graces through his intercession,” Pushparaj said. “We prayerfully leave the question of his cause to the Church, but his life remains the model for everything we try to do.”
The Bishop Iruthayaraj Foundation, which operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in central Ohio, was officially established in December 2024. Bishop Earl Fernandes serves as chair and the foundation is under his ecclesiastical authority.
Four Indian dioceses and archdioceses, including the Diocese of Palayamkottai, Tamil Nadu, India, where Bishop Iruthayaraj is buried, are currently served. The foundation also serves the African Church, including in Zambia, Nigeria, Uganda and Tanzania.
Support for the foundation has allowed for completion of eight projects in India and Africa, including a Marian grotto, renovations for a parish church and archbishop’s residence, and construction of a presbytery (clergy’s house) and basketball court for children.
The foundation funded drilling of a borehole to extract water in Zambia with support from St. Brigid of Kildare parish. It also extended a presbytery, restored a church and built an ablution (washing station) and toilet block to provide sanitation for families.
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Pushparaj’s upbringing largely inspired him to start the foundation.
“My grandfather was a poor farmer, and my father and mother were high school teachers. The Jesuits in India gave me my education, and it formed me,” he said.
“I went on to earn two master’s degrees, one in computer science and one in psychology. I know firsthand what a Catholic education can do for a child from a poor family.
“When I was still in school, I helped Sri Lankan refugees who had been driven from their homes by the war there. Seeing families who had lost everything had a deep and lasting effect on me. It taught me that faith has to show itself in care for people who are suffering.”
Pushparaj and his wife, Abana Saju, opened their home to missionary priests and bishops beginning in 2015. The couple have two sons who attended Columbus St. Charles Preparatory and St. Brigid of Kildare schools. Pushparaj described the family’s hospitality as a way of serving, which has since transpired into an organized nonprofit ministry.
The foundation received about $51,000 in 2025, its first full year of operation. In 2026, support for the foundation has nearly doubled to approximately $100,000.
Most supporters are parishioners and families in the Columbus diocese and members of the diocese’s Tamil Catholic community. Pushparaj was also invited to speak at mission appeals in the Archdioceses of Chicago and St. Louis and Diocese of Dallas.
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“When a village child cannot afford school, when a priest who served for 40 years cannot afford his medicine or when a parish has no clean water, that is our concern, too,” Pushparaj affirmed.
The African and Indian Church has faced increased hardship in recent years.
“Priests are harassed, religious sisters are threatened and churches have been attacked and even burned,” Pushparaj said of parts of India. “In many places, the freedom to practice our faith can no longer be taken for granted. Christians in Nigeria face similar suffering, and often, worse.”
The Bishop Iruthayaraj Foundation is looking to sponsor education for Indian orphans and poor children and seminarian formation, ensuring vocations are not lost to poor families. Pushparaj hopes the foundation can also help with urgent needs in the Archdiocese of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India, including sanitation facilities, a new presbytery and care for seminarians and senior priests.
Additionally, the foundation anticipates providing medical care and support for elderly and retired priests in India, Nigeria and Uganda.
“It is our Christian obligation and an act of universal solidarity,” Pushparaj affirmed. “Many priests serving in parishes across the United States today come from India and Africa.
“In a real sense, those churches have already given to us. The foundation lets the Church in central Ohio give something back and share in what Christ asks of us.”
To give online, individuals can visit https://bishopiruthayarajfoundation.com/give-now/. Checks can be mailed to 9422 Alnwick Loop, Plain City, Ohio 43064. The Catholic Foundation has also partnered with the Bishop Iruthayaraj Foundation to establish a fund, which can be ideal for donor-advised fund grants, gifts of stock and planned giving.