Father Michael Tarigopula

Board Member of Bridge of Mercy Ministries

A Priest of Gratitude, Mercy, and Service Across Continents

Father Joseph Michael Tarigopula has devoted more than three decades of priesthood to bringing the love of Christ to parish communities, children, families, and people experiencing poverty in both India and the United States. A priest of the Diocese of Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, India, he currently serves as Parochial Vicar at Queen of Apostles Parish in Madison, Wisconsin, and as Vice President and a member of the Board of Directors of Bridge of Mercy Ministries.

His priesthood is marked by joy, gratitude, a deep love for the Church, and a lifelong concern for the poor. Whether celebrating the sacraments in Wisconsin, helping provide care and education for children in India, or strengthening charitable relationships across continents, Father Michael seeks to follow a simple principle: receive life as a gift from God, serve faithfully wherever God has placed you, and do whatever good is possible within your own corner of the world.

A Childhood Centered on the Church

Father Michael was born on April 16, 1967, in the village of Pannur in India. He was the eighth of ten children, with five brothers and four sisters. His parents raised their children in the Catholic faith, and the Church was at the center of the family’s life.

Growing up, Father Michael frequently attended daily Mass with members of his family. He remembers loving the Church from his earliest years. His mother, Agnes, would tell him that even on the day of his Baptism, someone in the church had predicted that he would become a priest. The infant Michael had a small natural bald spot on his head that resembled the traditional clerical tonsure worn by priests before the Second Vatican Council.

The story became a joyful part of the family’s memory, but the possibility of priesthood soon became much more than a childhood prediction.

After receiving his First Holy Communion, Michael became an altar server. Like the young Samuel in the Old Testament, he found a home in the house of God. He spent much of his free time around the church—playing with the other altar servers, studying there after school, and sometimes staying overnight with them. The parish was not simply a building the family visited. It was the spiritual, social, and communal center of his village, a Catholic community of approximately four hundred families.

“The church was the center for me,” Father Michael later recalled. “Our life revolved around the church.”

The Pastor Who Inspired His Vocation

The strongest human influence on Father Michael’s vocation was his childhood pastor.

Father Michael remembers him as an exemplary priest who loved the sacred liturgy, loved his people, and showed special kindness toward children. He welcomed young people into parish life and made the church a place where they felt safe, noticed, and valued. Even small gestures of affection—such as giving cookies to the altar servers—left a lasting impression on Michael.

Those gestures became especially meaningful after Michael’s father lost the family’s financial security when Michael was still a boy. In a household with ten children, even basic necessities could become difficult to provide. Father Michael later remembered returning home from boarding seminary during school holidays and understanding that buying something as simple as a new shirt could place a burden on his family.

These experiences gave him an early awareness of poverty, but they also showed him how kindness offered through the Church could strengthen a child and give hope to a family.

Watching his pastor, Michael began to think that he, too, wanted to become a priest and do good for others. His vocation was born not only from admiration for the priesthood as a sacred office, but from witnessing priestly fatherhood in action.

“My pastor was a very exemplary priest,” Father Michael explained. “He loved the liturgy, he loved the people, and he was very good to children. All my aspirations—what I do today—come from there.”

Formation and Ordination

Father Michael’s desire for priesthood began taking definite shape when he was ten, eleven, or twelve years old.

He has described himself with humor as a student whose greatest interests were religion and soccer. Although he did not excel equally in every academic subject, religion class was different. He earned praise and awards, and by the seventh grade he had memorized the Mysteries of the Rosary and could pray it confidently. Looking back, he recognizes this as a special grace through which God was drawing his heart toward the Catholic faith.

At the age of thirteen, Michael left his family to attend a boarding seminary approximately five hours from home in another state. The separation from his parents and siblings required sacrifice, but he understood that he was beginning his formal preparation for priesthood.

He completed his high school studies at the apostolic school and later continued his priestly formation at a regional seminary in Hyderabad. On April 28, 1994, he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Nellore.

Father Michael has never regretted his response to God’s call.

“When I look back, I see that God had a plan, and I think I aligned my plan with His plan,” he has said. “God called me, and I responded.”

He has described his priesthood as a life in which there has never been a lingering question about whether he chose the right path. Instead, he speaks of his vocation with enduring happiness and gratitude.

Rooted in the Apostolic Faith of India

Father Michael’s Catholic identity is deeply connected to the ancient Christian heritage of South India.

He speaks with gratitude about the tradition that St. Thomas the Apostle brought the Gospel to India during the first century. St. Thomas first evangelized in Kerala and was later martyred in what is now Tamil Nadu. His tomb is preserved at the San Thome Basilica in Chennai, which Father Michael identifies with pride as his home cathedral.

Later missionaries, including the Mill Hill Missionaries from England, helped evangelize other regions of South India and contributed to the establishment of Catholic parishes, schools, hospitals, and charitable institutions.

Although Christians remain a minority in India and may face persecution or discrimination in some areas, Father Michael comes from a region with a strong Catholic presence and a living sense of connection to the apostolic Church. This background has helped him understand both the universality of Catholicism and the sacrifices made by Christians who practice their faith as a minority community.

Priestly Ministry in India and Pennsylvania

Following his ordination, Father Michael served for approximately nine years in the Diocese of Nellore.

In 2003, he came to the United States and was assigned as Parochial Vicar at Epiphany Parish in Sayre, Pennsylvania, in the Diocese of Scranton. He came to love the parish and its people, and the relationships formed there would later become an important bridge of charity between Catholics in the United States and children in India.

Father Michael returned to India in December 2006. He was subsequently appointed pastor of the Infant of Prague Diocesan Shrine and resumed his service within the Diocese of Nellore.

During this period, he became increasingly involved in helping poor and underprivileged children, especially by providing educational opportunities. With assistance from supporters connected to Epiphany Parish in Pennsylvania, he helped establish the Infant Jesus Orphanage, creating a place where children could receive care, stability, and access to schooling.

For Father Michael, education is much more than academic achievement. It can change the entire direction of a child’s life.

“I wanted to help poor children, especially with getting an education,” he explained. “Education brings changes in lives.”

The Faith and Legacy of His Mother, Agnes

Father Michael’s commitment to the poor is inseparable from the example of his mother.

Agnes was a woman of deep faith, simplicity, humility, and generosity. Father Michael remembers her as someone with a compassionate heart who went out of her way to assist people in need. Her love for the poor was not an abstract ideal. It was expressed through concrete acts of kindness and service.

Agnes died on June 10, 2006. One year later, Father Michael and a catechist founded the Agnesh Multipurpose Development Society, a registered charitable organization in India established to continue her legacy of love for people with limited resources.

The organization’s work grew from two closely connected sources: the example of Agnes and Father Michael’s own experience of growing up among the poor. His childhood and young adulthood gave him firsthand knowledge of the struggles faced by families in developing communities. That understanding became, in his words, a cornerstone of his priestly vocation.

The Agnesh Multipurpose Development Society was created to improve the lives of orphans and people suffering from extreme poverty. Its service is offered without discrimination based on faith, caste, color, or race. The poor and needy are welcomed simply because they are human persons whose dignity must be recognized and protected.

Friends of Agnes Charitable Foundation

In 2019, Father Michael helped establish the Friends of Agnes Charitable Foundation, Inc., a United States-based 501(c)(3) organization.

The foundation was established to provide stronger American support for the charitable work being carried out in India through the Agnesh Multipurpose Development Society. It also ensures that the life and example of Father Michael’s mother continue to bear fruit across generations and across continents.

The Friends of Agnes Charitable Foundation describes its mission as providing a better life for underprivileged people through charitable acts. Its work reflects the Gospel mandate expressed in Matthew 25:31–40: to recognize and serve Christ in people who are hungry, poor, vulnerable, or otherwise in need.

Through the two related organizations, Father Michael has helped create a lasting bridge between benefactors in the United States and people experiencing poverty in India. The foundation allows individuals and Catholic communities in America to participate directly in works that support children, orphans, families, and others facing severe hardship.

For Father Michael, this work is more than philanthropy. It is an expression of priestly vocation, a continuation of his mother’s compassion, and a response to the formative experiences of his own childhood.

By establishing the Friends of Agnes Charitable Foundation, he has ensured that Agnes’s quiet acts of faith and mercy continue to inspire concrete service to people she would never meet in this life.

Ministry in the Diocese of Madison

In 2013, Father Michael returned to the United States to serve in the Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin.

He was first appointed Parochial Administrator of St. Patrick Parish in Cottage Grove. The local community welcomed him warmly, and Father Michael expressed his desire not only to minister within the parish but also to become part of the wider community and make himself available wherever his service might be needed.

In 2018, he was transferred to serve at Ss. Mary and Paul Parish in Mineral Point and St. Philomena Parish in Belmont. In 2023, he began serving at Queen of Apostles Parish in Madison, including the communities of St. Dennis and St. Peter. The Diocese of Madison lists him as an active priest and Parochial Vicar at Queen of Apostles Parish.

In each assignment, Father Michael has approached the parish as a spiritual family. He loves celebrating the Mass, administering the sacraments, preaching, evangelizing, and participating in the daily life of the community.

His affection for children remains immediately apparent, especially during school Masses. He speaks to young people with warmth and encourages them to see themselves as active members of the Church.

At one school Mass, he told the children, “We are a great team.” The phrase reflects his broader understanding of parish life: priests and people are called to work together, encourage one another, and share responsibility for building up the Kingdom of God.

Gratitude, Simplicity, and the Poor

Gratitude is one of the defining themes of Father Michael’s spirituality.

His early experiences taught him not to take food, clothing, education, family, or community for granted. They also gave him an ability to recognize different kinds of poverty.

Material poverty can deprive people of food, shelter, education, healthcare, and opportunity. Affluent societies may suffer from another form of poverty—loneliness, isolation, spiritual emptiness, fractured relationships, and the loss of genuine dependence upon God and neighbor.

Father Michael speaks appreciatively of the American Catholics who have welcomed him, cared for him, and supported his charitable work. Their kindness has humbled him. At the same time, he believes that every Christian community must remain attentive to the widow, the orphan, the poor, the stranger, the wounded, and the forgotten.

He does not believe that one person can solve every problem. He does believe that every person can act faithfully within the place God has given him.

“We cannot change the whole world,” he has said, “but we can change our corner by doing things differently.”

Father Michael and Bridge of Mercy Ministries

Father Michael’s relationship with Bridge of Mercy Ministries began through an unexpected connection between Wisconsin and Andhra Pradesh.

The ministry’s founder was collaborating with a Protestant pastor in India who hoped to use the Rosary as a way of presenting the Gospel to tribal villagers, including people who could not read. Assistance was needed from a Catholic priest who spoke Telugu and could help provide accurate versions of the traditional prayers of the Rosary.

A search for a Telugu-speaking Catholic priest serving in the United States led to Father Michael. He promptly returned the telephone message, beginning a friendship and ministry collaboration rooted in prayer, evangelization, and concern for the people of India.

As Vice President and a member of the Board of Directors of Bridge of Mercy Ministries, Father Michael brings decades of pastoral experience, an international Catholic perspective, a commitment to children and education, and a lifelong concern for the poor.

He shares the ministry’s belief that a parish must be more than a place where people attend Mass anonymously. It should be a spiritual home and an extended family in Christ. In speaking about the Church as family, Father Michael observed that within the Church Christians receive “so many brothers and sisters” and become part of a larger family.

His experience strengthens Bridge of Mercy’s efforts to welcome those who are wounded, support people whose loved ones have left the Catholic faith, encourage young adults discerning their vocations, build authentic parish community, and reach out to those who have gradually drifted away.

Father Michael’s charitable work also gives practical substance to the ministry’s name. Mercy is not merely a feeling. It is a bridge built through prayer, friendship, hospitality, education, encouragement, and service.

“Do Good and Build Up God’s Kingdom”

When Father Michael speaks about vocation, he does not limit the word to priesthood and religious life. He recognizes marriage as a sacrament and teaches that every person is called to receive life gratefully and offer it back to God through faithful service.

His advice to young people—and to Christians of every age—is simple:

“Be grateful to God in your own corner, do good, and build up God’s Kingdom.”

That statement provides a fitting summary of his life and priesthood.

Father Michael’s “corner” of the world has extended from a village in South India to parishes in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, from the ancient Christian heritage of St. Thomas to new works of mercy serving children and families, and from the example of his mother Agnes to charitable organizations carrying her compassion forward.

Across every assignment, the heart of his mission remains the same: love God, love the Church, care for children, serve the poor, welcome the stranger, celebrate the sacraments, and help people recognize the dignity and purpose of the lives God has given them.

Father Michael’s story demonstrates that enduring ministries often begin with small acts of faithfulness: a mother helping someone in need, a pastor encouraging an altar server, a parish supporting children across the ocean, a priest returning an unexpected telephone call, or one person deciding to change his own corner of the world.

Through all these moments, Father Michael continues to live the response he first made as a young boy: God called him, and he said yes.