The Maryknoll Society (also known as the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers and officially as Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America; Latin: Societas de Maryknoll pro missionibus exteris) is a Catholic society of apostolic life for men founded in the United States, who serve as missionaries to the poor and marginalized.
The society was founded in 1911 by Thomas Frederick Price, James Anthony Walsh, and Mary Joseph Rogers. The name Maryknoll comes from the hill outside the Village of Ossining, Westchester County, New York, which houses the headquarters of all three. Members of the societies are usually called Maryknollers.
Maryknollers are sometimes known as the "Marines of the Catholic Church" for their reputation of moving into rough areas, living side-by-side with the indigenous peoples and learning the language. Maryknollers focus on "combating poverty, providing healthcare, building communities and advancing peace and social justice" in the countries they serve and have built numerous orphanages, primary schools and secondary schools. Because of the way in which Maryknollers have especially engaged in social justice, Maryknoll is also sometimes seen as a movement that represents missionary service concerned with positive action for indigenous people. In the mid-20th century, this movement came to be associated with liberation theology.
The Christophers and The Maryknoll Affiliates are both associated with the Maryknoll Movement. Maryknoll is also the current name of the semi-monthly magazine which the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers publish.
The Maryknoll name is shared by a number of related Catholic organizations, including the Maryknoll Sisters, and the Maryknoll Lay Missioners. The organizations are independent entities with shared history that work closely together in the joint focus of the overseas mission activity of the Catholic Church particularly in East Asia, the United States, Latin America, and Africa.
Contents
History
Background
Prior to 1906, the United States was on a roster of Catholic mission territories compiled by the Vatican. It was part of an era of heavy migrations of European Catholics to the United States and there was a cultural hostility to Roman Catholicism. The establishment of Maryknoll for foreign missions came at a time when the Catholic church was focusing its energies on that anti-Catholic bias within the United States. "Out of the 17,000 Americans serving as Catholic priests at the time, for example, the number serving in foreign missions was 14."
In 1907, Father James Walsh of Boston began publishing The Field Afar, a mission magazine that would later become Maryknoll. The following year, Mary "Mollie" Josephine Rogers (later Mother Mary Joseph, MM) began helping Walsh with editing, translating and writing.
In 1910, Father Thomas Price was facing the failure of his attempt to begin a Catholic order for domestic mission work in the South. Price was overwhelmed with fundraising on top of his actual mission work and the many responsibilities he had as the order Superior. Price and Walsh had corresponded and met in person that year at a conference in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The pair immediately began planning a national foreign mission seminary. They were complementary in character; Walsh had a knack for organization and planning things on a grand scale while Price was a "Tarheel" from North Carolina who was personable and charismatic.
Foundation of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers: 1911–1919
The two received permission to travel to Rome, where Pope Pius X granted their request to found a new society on June 29, 1911.
Walsh immediately put an ad in The Field Afar: "Youths or young men who feel a strong desire to toil for the souls of heathen people and who are willing to go afar with no hope of earthly recompense and with no guarantee of a return to their native land are encouraged to write." In 1912, The Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America (CFMSA) was launched in a rented property Hawthorne, New York, with a total of six men. Thomas McCann was the first candidate to become a full brother member of the Maryknoll Society on November 21, 1912.
That September, Rogers had relocated to New York to continue work on the magazine. She and five other women "secretaries" began living together at Hawthorne. Rogers emerged as their natural leader and envisioned the women as missioners in their own right and not merely serving in supportive roles to the men.
Walsh and Price had immediately begun a search for a permanent home for their new society. They contracted for a parcel in Pocantico Hills in July, 1912 but John D. Rockefeller, who owned the property on the other side and did not want a seminary as a neighbor, contested the purchase in court. In August, CFMSA gave up the parcel in return for a financial arrangement. Walsh and Price found a 93-acre hill in Ossining that included three houses and a barn and was now affordable due to the Rockefeller windfall. Wary of another incident of bias, Rogers, dressed as a "Lady from Boston" and accompanied by a lawyer, negotiated the sale. Walsh, dressed as her chauffeur, waited for two hours with the car.
They made the purchase on August 20, 1912, for $44,500, a lower price than what had been offered for the previous parcel. Price dedicated the property to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the name "Mary's Knoll" was coined. The hilltop had two homesteads at a distance from each other, the larger one became the first Seminary and the other was set aside for the "secretaries". A carriage house with quarters was converted into the chapel. The barn was allocated to the brothers and seminary students.
Maryknolls Today
As of 2008, there were over 475 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 20th 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 Seminary Building
The Maryknoll Seminary Building is located in Ossining, Westchester County, New York. The building currently houses the headquarters of Maryknoll missions. The building has distinctive design, specifically with pagodas built into its architecture, to honor its founding purpose as a mission order to the Far East.
Martyrs
Francis Xavier Ford, Maryknoll martyr. Fr. Ford was one of the first four Maryknollers to arrive in China in 1918 and died in a Canton prison in 1953. A primary school named Bishop Ford Memorial School was founded by the Maryknoll Fathers in Hong Kong in 1952. The school is now run by the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong Bishop Ford Central Catholic High School in Brooklyn, New York was founded in 1962 and named in his honor, but closed in 2014.
Other notable Maryknollers
Maryknoll Seminary alumni
Roy Bourgeois was ordained to the priesthood in the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers in 1972, after which he worked with the poor in Bolivia until 1975. An outspoken critic of US foreign policy in Latin America, he founded the non-profit human rights organization, School of the Americas Watch (SOA Watch) in 1990. In 2005 he was awarded the Thomas Merton Award for his work. Following his participation in a women's ordination-to-the-priesthood ceremony in August 2008, he was warned of possible excommunication latae sententiae, marking the beginning of a four-year-long period of discussion and negotiation between Bourgeois and the Church, through the Maryknoll Society. Finally, on November 19, 2012, it was announced that Bourgeois had been officially canonically dismissed from both the Maryknoll Society, and the Roman Catholic priesthood, effective October 4, 2012.
Everett Francis Briggs, Maryknoll missionary, studied the history of the Monongah Mining Disaster of December 6, 1907 described as "the worst mining disaster in American History". After discovering there was no memorial, he sought to ensure that the victims of the tragedy were not forgotten.
Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, Foreign Minister of Nicaragua in the Sandinista government. Pope John Paul refused to meet him during his papal visit to the country on 4 March 1983, as he remained in that government contrary to Church discipline.
Patrick Joseph Byrne, Apostolic Delegate to Korea from 1949 to 1950 who died in the custody of the Communists in Korea.
Fr. Vincent R. Capodanno former Maryknoll missionary, Servant of God, and Medal of Honor winner during the Viet Nam War as a Navy Chaplain attached to the US Marines. He did his missionary work in Taiwan.
Fr. Robert W. Greene, served in China; placed under house arrest on Oct. 15, 1950; banished from China and marched under guard to Hong Kong on Apr. 13, 1952. Later authored best-selling novel "Calvary in China" about his work and incarceration, published in 1953.
Schools in Hong Kong
Several notable schools in Hong Kong were founded by Maryknollers; and several are still run by them.
Founded by the Maryknollers
Bishop Ford Memorial School, a co-educational primary school. This is the first ever school founded by the Maryknoll Fathers in Hong Kong after the Second World War. It was founded in 1952 after the Maryknoller, Fr. Francis Xavier Ford for his mission in China. This school is now managed by the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong,
Kwun Tong Maryknoll College, a secondary school for boys, now managed by the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong,
Bishop Walsh Primary School, a co-educational primary school. This school was founded in 1963 after the Maryknoller, Bishop James Edward Walsh, who had suffered a lot for his mission in China. This school is now managed by the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong,
Pope Pius XII Primary School, a co-educational primary school in Hong Kong, founded in 1953, closed in 1979. Her legacy is inherited by Chai Wan Kok Catholic Primary School and Sham Tseng Catholic Primary School, both now run by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong)
St. Patrick's School, a co-educational primary school, now managed by the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong,
St. Patrick's Catholic Primary School (Po Kong Village Road), formerly PM section of St Patrick's School, also a co-educational primary school, now managed by the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong
Marymount Secondary School initially known as the Holy Spirit School, then the Maryknoll Sisters' School, a secondary school for girls founded in 1927. This is the very second school set up by Maryknollers in Hong Kong.
Marymount Primary School, a primary school for girls,
Maryknoll Convent School, primary and secondary school for girls.
The last three schools were in fact founded by the Maryknoll Sisters. Maryknoll Convent School is still managed by them in Hong Kong. However, sponsorship of the two Marymount schools was transferred to Christian Life Community. Nevertheless, these three schools are frequently viewed as members of the Maryknoll family in Hong Kong.
Still run by Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers
Maryknoll Secondary School, formerly known as Maryknoll Technical Secondary School, a co-educational secondary school,
Maryknoll College (Senior Form), formerly known as Maryknoll Technical Secondary Evening School, a private co-educational evening school, senior forms only,
Maryknoll Fathers' School secondary section, a co-educational secondary school,
Maryknoll Fathers' School (Primary Section), a co-educational primary school,
Bishop Paschang Catholic School, formerly known as Bishop Paschang Memorial School, a co-educational primary school. This school was founded after the late Maryknoller, Bishop Adolph John Paschang, who had suffered a lot for his missionary work in China.