| 26th | Top non-governmental organizations in Vietnam |
Maryknoll is a name shared by three organizations within the United States Catholic Church whose joint focus is on the overseas mission activity of the U.S. Catholic Church. These organizations are: The Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers (The Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America); The Maryknoll Sisters (The Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic); and the Maryknoll Lay Missioners. While sharing a name and similar origins, the organizations are independent entities who nevertheless work closely together in many of their missionary endeavors.
Throughout its nearly hundred-year history, Maryknoll has emphasized ministry and missionary work particularly in East Asia, China, Japan, Korea, Latin America and Africa.
Contents |
This order was founded by Fr. James Anthony Walsh of Boston and Fr. Thomas Frederick Price of North Carolina, who met at the 21st Eucharistic Congress in Montreal, Canada (7th – 11 September 1910). Maryknoll was established in 1911 as the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America by the Archbishops of the United States with the commission to recruit, send and support U.S. missioners in areas around the world. On June 29, 1911, Pope Pius X blessed the founding of Maryknoll. Maryknoll's first missioners left for China in 1918.[1] [2][3]
In the year following its founding, three men joined the community as members (i.e., persons fully committed to the mission work), and the first Brother, Thomas McCann, took orders. The ranks of Brothers increased to ten by the end of WW1. The men joining during this period were generally skilled tradesmen; much of their early work consisted of constructing buildings. They were called the Brothers of St. Michael and their lodging, the "St. Michael’s Residence", can still be seen on the Maryknoll grounds.[2]
Fr. Price died in 1919, leaving only three missionaries in China.
By 1921, the community consisted of 20 priests, a dozen brothers, and about 65 seminary students. The facilities were four wooden farm buildings, situated on a hill named "Mary's Knoll". A modern fieldstone building in the compound housed the offices of The Field Afar. (A large fieldstone seminary had been started, but would not be completed until the 1950s.) In addition to their studies, the students performed maintenance chores and helped take care of livestock. The seminary was not severe; they got some afternoons off to hike or ride bicycles in the surrounding Westchester hills.[4]
The number of missionaries in China had grown to 27 (25 priests and two Brothers) as of 1927. The missions were centered in and around Kong-Moon (known since 1951 as Jiangmen), whose six million inhabitants were plagued by the civil wars of the Warlord era, flooding, dysentery, bandits, and smallpox.[5]
A mission to Korea, begun in 1922, had also grown significantly by 1927, to 17 priests and two Brothers. It was centered in the north of Korea, around the city of Penyang.[5]
The early missionaries concentrated in East Asia, particularly China and Korea. During WW2, however, numerous South American countries were added as mission sites.[1]
Women played an important role at Maryknoll from the start. In 1911, several women joined the community as part of the The Field Afar staff. The Church officially recognized the Maryknoll Sisters as a religious community on February 14, 1920. A 1905 graduate of Smith College, Mollie Rogers, led the community under the name Mother Mary Joseph.
The following year, sisters began to go abroad to join missions in China and Hong Kong. A Motherhouse was started in 1927 and (unlike the seminary building) completed within a decade.[2]
As of 2008, there are over 550 Maryknoll priests and Brothers serving in countries around the world, principally in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Throughout their history, especially in the first half of the twentieth century, Maryknoll missioners played a large role in the Catholic Church in East Asia where some missioners still work. Maryknoll also has extensive connections with many Latin American countries, where it has long worked to help alleviate poverty and bring constructive changes to the life of Latin America's poor.
Maryknoll Magazine is a publication issued by Maryknoll which attempts to expose a wide audience to its mission and other work around the world. Orbis Books is a publishing house owned and operated by the order, which puts out books on theological and other topics, particularly those with relevance to mission work and international cooperation.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
   | Maryknoll Lay Missioners - Maryknoll Lay Missioners :: about.html [Static] |
| | Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic - Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic, inc. - Home |
| | Maryknoll.org - Maryknoll: THE U.S. CATHOLIC MISSION MOVEMENT |
| | Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns - Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns |
| | Society of Apostolic Life - Code of Canon Law - IntraText |
|
|
Top topics
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
