Local foundation provides healthcare, pastoral care overseas

The Bishop Iruthayaraj Foundation provides healthcare, education, and pastoral care to Christian communities in Africa and India. Maria Pushparaj, a parishioner at St. Brigid of Kildare Church in Dublin, co-founded the nonprofit and serves as its executive director. She established the foundation alongside Archbishop Antonysamy Savarimuthu of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.

The foundation is named for the late Bishop Savarinathen Iruthayaraj, the first bishop of Palayamkottai, who died in 2001. During his ministry, the bishop opened more than 100 schools, established rural clinics for those unable to afford medical care, and created a home for street children. The foundation seeks to continue these specific ministries.