Maryknoll Society facts for kids
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| Abbreviation | M.M. |
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| Formation | 1911 |
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| Type | Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical Right (for Men) |
| Headquarters | (Fathers and Brothers) P.O. Box 303, Maryknoll, NY 10545-0303 |
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Membership (2017)
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317 (268 Priests) |
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Key people
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The Maryknoll Society, also known as the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, is a Catholic group for men. It was started in the United States to help people in need around the world. They are like missionaries, which means they travel to different countries to share their faith and help communities.
The society was founded in 1911 by Thomas Frederick Price, James Anthony Walsh, and Mary Joseph Rogers. The name Maryknoll comes from a hill in Ossining, New York, where their main office is located. People who are part of Maryknoll are often called Maryknollers.
Maryknollers are sometimes called the "Marines of the Catholic Church." This is because they are known for going into challenging areas. They live alongside local people and learn their languages. Maryknollers focus on fighting poverty, providing healthcare, building communities, and working for peace and fairness. They have built many orphanages and schools. They are known for taking action to help local people.
Two other groups, The Christophers and The Maryknoll Affiliates, are also connected to the Maryknoll movement. Maryknoll is also the name of a magazine published by the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers.
The name Maryknoll is shared by several related Catholic groups. These include the Maryknoll Sisters and the Maryknoll Lay Missioners. These groups are separate but work closely together. They all focus on missionary work, especially in places like East Asia, the United States, Latin America, and Africa.
Contents
Maryknoll's Story
How it Started
Before 1906, the United States was actually considered a "mission territory" by the Vatican. This was a time when many European Catholics were moving to the U.S. Also, there was some unfriendliness towards Roman Catholicism in the country. Maryknoll was created for missions abroad at a time when the Catholic Church was focused on these issues at home. For example, out of 17,000 American Catholic priests at the time, only 14 were serving in foreign missions.
In 1907, Father James Walsh started a magazine called The Field Afar. This magazine later became Maryknoll. The next year, Mary "Mollie" Josephine Rogers began helping Father Walsh with the magazine.
In 1910, Father Thomas Price was having trouble with his plan to start a Catholic group for mission work in the South. He was overwhelmed with raising money and his other duties. Price and Walsh had written to each other and met at a conference in Canada. They immediately started planning a national school for foreign missionaries. They worked well together: Walsh was good at organizing, and Price was friendly and inspiring.
Founding the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers: 1911–1919
The two priests got permission from Pope Pius X in Rome to start their new society on June 29, 1911.
Father Walsh immediately put an advertisement in The Field Afar. It asked for young men who wanted to help people in other countries. In 1912, the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America (CFMSA) began in a rented building in Hawthorne, NY. It started with six men. Thomas McCann was the first to become a full brother in the Maryknoll Society on November 21, 1912.
That September, Mary Rogers moved to New York to keep working on the magazine. She and five other women, who were "secretaries," started living together. Rogers became their natural leader. She believed the women could also be missionaries, not just helpers for the men.
"Mary's Knoll" and the Teresians
Walsh and Price immediately looked for a permanent home for their new group. They tried to buy land in Pocantico Hills in July 1912. However, John D. Rockefeller, who owned nearby land, didn't want a seminary next door. He fought the purchase in court. In August, CFMSA gave up the land and received some money. Walsh and Price then found a 93-acre hill in Ossining. It had three houses and a barn, and they could now afford it.
To avoid another problem, Mary Rogers dressed as a "Lady from Boston" and went with a lawyer to buy the land. Father Walsh, dressed as her driver, waited in the car. They bought the property on August 20, 1912, for $44,500. Price dedicated the land to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the name "Mary's Knoll" was created. The larger house became the first seminary, and the other was for the "secretaries." A carriage house was turned into a chapel, and the barn was for the brothers and students.
A few weeks later, Walsh asked the "secretaries" how they wanted to be organized after moving to Maryknoll. They had been paid for their work, and Walsh promised to continue this. But he asked if they wanted to remain laywomen or become a community living under Religious vows. All the women agreed. Rogers told her colleagues, "I want you to know how wholly I belong to you... to serve you, to love you, to watch over you."
On October 15, 1912, the women joined Rogers, who had moved to Maryknoll earlier. They called their building "St. Teresa's Lodge." A traveling priest sent a postcard addressed to them as the Teresians, and the name stuck. The Teresians began studying and planned to ask Rome for official recognition.
Maryknoll now had nine men serving as brothers. They named their building "St. Michael's" Residence and called themselves "The Brothers of St. Michael." Like the Teresians, most brothers spent their early years building and maintaining the Maryknoll buildings.
Michael Hoban, a bishop, invited Maryknoll to start a school in Scranton, Pennsylvania. In 1913, Maryknoll Preparatory Seminary was founded. Students attended classes at St. Thomas College. The school was very successful because people in Scranton supported it with meals and donations. In 1915, the students moved to the main community near Ossining for a year. In 1916, Walsh bought 179 acres in Clarks Summit, PA. A school was set up in an old farmhouse there. It became known as the Venard.
First Missions to China
World War I ended in 1918. Three Maryknoll priests were ready for the first Maryknoll mission to China. James Edward Walsh, Francis X. Ford, and Bernard F. Meyer, along with Father Price as their leader, left for China on September 7, 1918.
Walsh and Meyer arrived first, with Price and Ford following weeks later. Their first stop was Hong Kong, a British colony at the time. They spent some time with another Catholic group to learn about mission work in China. From Hong Kong, they went to Yeungkong and began their missionary work there. Father Price, even though he learned only a few words of the local languages, set an important example. He showed that every small act of service for the people was important. He insisted on full church services and planned for their religious, educational, and medical needs. He visited distant villages and always welcomed visitors kindly. He put all his energy into serving the people.
Daniel Leo McShane led the second group to China in 1919. When the Maryknollers arrived, they found that Chinese orphanages did not accept babies or sick children. So, an orphanage was started in Yeungkong in 1920. McShane then went to Luoding and immediately set up another orphanage for abandoned children there, even with local opposition. The Maryknollers built facilities and offered a small amount of money for every child. Soon, the Yeungkong orphanage was performing about 450 baptisms a year, and the Luoding facility nearly a thousand.
Death of Founder Thomas Price: 1919
In August 1919, Father Price became very ill. There were no good medical facilities nearby, so he was taken to St. Paul's Hospital, Hong Kong. It was a difficult journey. Price was admitted on August 19, 1919, and had an operation in early September. The treatment was too late, and Price died on September 12, 1919. He was buried in Hong Kong. In 1936, his body was moved to the cemetery at Maryknoll, New York. James E. Walsh became the leader of the mission after Price's death.
Maryknoll Today
As of 2008, there are over 475 Maryknoll priests and brothers. They serve in countries all over the world, especially in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Throughout their history, Maryknoll missionaries played a big role in the Catholic Church in East Asia, where some still work today. Maryknoll also has strong connections with many Latin American countries. They have worked there for a long time to help reduce poverty and bring positive changes to the lives of poor people.
Maryknoll Headquarters Building
The Maryknoll Seminary Building is in Ossining, New York. This building is now the main office for Maryknoll missions. It has a special design, including pagodas in its architecture. This design honors its original purpose as a mission group focused on the Far East.
Maryknoll Martyrs
- Francis Xavier Ford: He was one of the first four Maryknollers to arrive in China in 1918. He died in a prison in Canton in 1953. A primary school in Hong Kong, Bishop Ford Memorial School, was named after him.
Other Important Maryknollers
- Roy Bourgeois: He became a priest in 1972 and worked with poor people in Bolivia. He spoke out against U.S. foreign policy in Latin America and started a human rights group called School of the Americas Watch (SOA Watch) in 1990. He was later asked to leave the Maryknoll Society and the priesthood in 2012.
- Everett Francis Briggs: A Maryknoll missionary who studied the history of the Monongah Mining Disaster of 1907. This was a terrible mining accident in American history. He worked to make sure the victims were not forgotten.
- Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann: He was a Foreign Minister in Nicaragua's Sandinista government.
- Patrick Joseph Byrne: He was a special representative for the Pope in Korea from 1949 to 1950. He died while being held by Communists in Korea.
- Fr. Vincent Robert Capodanno: A former Maryknoll missionary and a Medal of Honor winner during the Viet Nam War. He served as a Navy Chaplain with the U.S. Marines. He did his missionary work in Taiwan.
- Fr. Robert W. Greene: He served in China and was placed under house arrest in 1950. He was later forced to leave China in 1952. He wrote a book about his experiences called "Calvary in China."
- Fr. Joseph G. Healey: He serves in Kenya and is known for using local sayings and stories in his ministry.
- James Keller: He founded The Christophers, a group that encourages people to make a positive difference in the world.
- Bishop Adolph John Paschang: A Maryknoll missionary. A primary school in Hong Kong, Bishop Paschang Memorial School, was named after him.
- Thomas Frederick Price: One of the two main founders of Maryknoll. He was one of the first four Maryknollers to go to China in 1918. Price Memorial Catholic Primary School in Hong Kong was founded in his honor.
- Bishop James E. Walsh: A Maryknoll missionary. He was one of the first four Maryknollers to arrive in China in 1918. He became a bishop in 1927. He was imprisoned in 1959 and released in 1970. He was the last American missionary to be released by the Communist Chinese government. A primary school in Hong Kong, Bishop Walsh Primary School, was named after him.
Schools in Hong Kong
Several important schools in Hong Kong were started by Maryknollers. Some are still managed by them today.
Schools Founded by Maryknollers
- Bishop Ford Memorial School: A primary school for boys and girls. It was the first school started by the Maryknoll Fathers in Hong Kong after World War II. It was founded in 1952.
- Kwun Tong Maryknoll College: A secondary school for boys.
- Bishop Walsh Primary School: A primary school for boys and girls. This school was founded in 1963 and named after Bishop James Edward Walsh.
- Pope Pius XII Primary School: A primary school for boys and girls, founded in 1953 and closed in 1979.
- St. Patrick's School: A primary school for boys and girls.
- St. Patrick's Catholic Primary School (Po Kong Village Road): Also a primary school for boys and girls.
- Marymount Secondary School: A secondary school for girls, founded in 1927.
- Marymount Primary School: A primary school for girls.
- Maryknoll Convent School: A primary and secondary school for girls.
The last three schools (Marymount Secondary, Marymount Primary, and Maryknoll Convent School) were actually founded by the Maryknoll Sisters. Maryknoll Convent School is still managed by them.
Schools Still Run by Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers
- Maryknoll Secondary School: A secondary school for boys and girls.
- Maryknoll College (Senior Form): A private evening school for older students.
- Maryknoll Fathers' School secondary section: A secondary school for boys and girls.
- Maryknoll Fathers' School (Primary Section): A primary school for boys and girls.
- Bishop Paschang Catholic School: A primary school for boys and girls. This school was named after Bishop Adolph John Paschang.
Images for kids
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The "Teresians" of Maryknoll assisting at The Venard, PA; July 18, 1918
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Colorized lantern slide of Maryknoll Fathers James E. Walsh (second from left) and Francis X. Ford (third from left), with Bishop Auguste Gauthier, M.E.P. A large pile of woven baskets provides a backdrop. All three men wear cassocks and pith helmets. ca 1918
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Father Thomas F. Price, co-founder of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, center, was pictured in a 1918 photo in China.
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Panorama of a missionary station built by Maryknoll Fathers (Makoko, Tanzania)
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See also
- Catholic Church in China
- Catholic Church in Japan
- Catholic Church in Korea
- Consecrated life
- Dalian Catholic Church
- Institute of consecrated life
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Jiangmen
- Secular institute
- Society of apostolic life
- Maryknoll House (Stanley)
