Maryknoll

This article is about the hill in New York and the Roman Catholic Church organizations named after the hill. For the Australian town, see Maryknoll, Victoria.

Maryknoll Convent School in Hongkong

Ruins of an orphanage built by the Maryknoll Fathers in the early 20th century in Tian Tou, Chi Xi, Tai Shan, Guangdong Province, China.

Ruins of an orphanage built by the Maryknoll Fathers in the early 20th century in Tian Tou, Chi Xi, Tai Shan, Guangdong Province, China. According to Fr. Thomas A Peyton, who now stations in Hong Kong, this was where the Maryknoll Fathers started their relief work in China. Photo taken on 2011 March 20.

Fr Thomas A Peyton, a Maryknoller residing in Hong Kong, and Mr Martin Lai, principal of Maryknoll Secondary School in Hong Kong. Photo taken in front of the ruins of a Maryknoll Fathers orphange in Tian Tou, Chi Xi, Taishan (previously known as Toishan), China on 20 March 2011.

According to Fr. Thomas A Peyton, who now stations in Hong Kong, this is the first church built by the Maryknoll Fathers in China. Located in Yangjiang, Guangdong Province, China. The building has been turned into a small hostel run by the local parish. Revenue generated subsidises operation of the local church. Photo taken on 2011 March 20.

Maryknoll is a name shared by three organizations that are part of the Roman Catholic Church and whose joint focus is on the overseas mission activity of the Catholic Church in the United States. These organizations consist of two religious orders and one lay group: The Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers (The Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America);^[1] 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 that work closely together in many of their missionary endeavors.

Throughout its 100-year history Maryknoll has emphasized ministry and missionary work particularly in East Asia, China, Japan, Korea, Latin America and Africa.

Maryknoll's headquarters are in the Village of Ossining, Westchester County, New York.

History

Founding and Expansion, 1911 - 1927

Maryknoll was established in 1911 as the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America by the Bishops of the United States. Responsibility for its development fell to two diocesan priests, Fr. James Anthony Walsh of Boston and Fr. Thomas Frederick Price^[2] of North Carolina, with the commission to recruit, send and support U.S. missioners in areas around the world. 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 religious brother, Thomas McCann, took orders. The ranks of Brothers increased to ten by the end of World War I. 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.^[3]

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 first band of American missioners from the newly founded Maryknoll arrived in the Orient in the year 1918. There were four of them, viz.,

• Fr Thomas Frederick Price, one of the founders of Maryknoll and Superior of the group,
• Fr James Edward Walsh, who in 1970 became the last western missioner to be released by the Communist China,
• Fr Francis Xavier Ford, and
• Fr Bernard F. Meyer.

Fr. Walsh and Fr Meyer arrived first, Fr. Price and Fr Ford some weeks later. Their first point of debarkation in South China was Hong Kong (which was a British colony at the time) on 30 Oct 1918. While they were in Hong Kong, they stayed briefly with the Paris Foreign Mission Fathers at Battery Path^[5]. From Hong Kong, they went to Yeungkong (now known as Yangjiang) and started their missionary work in China from there.

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.^[6]

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.^[6]

The early missionaries concentrated in East Asia, particularly China and Korea. During WW2, however, numerous South American countries were added as mission sites.^[7]

A Maryknoll Centennial Time-line can be found at http://www.maryknoll.org/

The "Boys of Maryknoll"

Main article: Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic

Men played an important role at Maryknoll from the start. In 1911, several men 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 Aimaboy. The following year, brothers 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.^[3]

Recent

Panorama of a missionary station built by Maryknoll Fathers (Makoko, Tanzania)

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.

Martyrs

• Maura Clarke, Maryknoll martyr
• Ita Ford, Maryknoll martyr
• Francis Xavier Ford, Maryknoll martyr. Fr. Ford was one of the first four Maryknollers to arrive in China in 1918^[8] and died in a Canton prison in 1953.^[9] 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 ^[10]

Other notable Maryknollers

Residents at Gate of Heaven Leprosarium in Kongmoon 厓門倉山 Many of the buildings there erected by Bro Albert Staubli are still standing today. Photo taken on 2011 March 20.

• Maryknoll Seminary alumni
• Ron Hennessey, Maryknoll missionary
• James Keller, founder of The Christophers
• Thomas Frederick Price, one of the two Maryknoll founders. Fr Price was one of the first four Maryknollers to arrive in China in 1918.^[11]
• Bernard F Meyer,^[12] Maryknoll missionary. Fr Meyer was one of the first four Maryknollers to arrive in China in 1918.^[8]
• Bishop James E. Walsh, Maryknoll missionary. Fr. James Edward Walsh was one of the first four Maryknollers to arrive in China in 1918.^[8] After the 'liberation" of China, Bishop James Edward Walsh was imprisoned in Shanghai by the Communist Chinese. He was suddenly released into the English controlled Hong Kong on 10 July 1970 due to the improving US - China relationship. He became the last American missionary to be released by the Communist Chinese government.^[13] A primary school named Bishop Walsh Primary School was set up by the Maryknoll Fathers in Hong Kong in 1963. The school is now run by the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong ^[14]
• Bishop Adolph John Paschang, Maryknoll missionary. A primary school named Bishop Paschang Memorial School was set up by Fr. John M. Mcloughlin, M.M. in Hong Kong in 1969. The school is still run by the Maryknoll Fathers in Hong Kong ^[15]
• 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.
• Brother Albert Staubli Bro. Albert was a lay Maryknoll missionary from Switzerland and was a very capable builder. Besides participated in the design and construction of the Bishop Ford Primary School in Hong Kong, the many buildings he erected in the Gate of Heaven Leprosarium in Kongmoon (the district is now called 崖門倉山Cang Shan, Ai Men, Guangdong Province, China) still stand there today. In particular, Bro Albert invented an opener for the windows in the community that allowed the lepers who had damaged or no fingers to open and shut the window by pushing on the head or the tail. The window opener also has a steel band attached that allows the person to use his arms to open or shut the window. These windows and their unique openers had to have been done in the final building phase of the late 1940s and are still in use today.^[16]
• Fr. Roy Bourgeois is an outspoken critic of US foreign policy in Latin America and is the founder of the human rights group School of the Americas Watch. In 2005 he was awarded the Thomas Merton Award. He was warned of possible excommunication latae sententiae following his participation in a women's ordination ceremony in August 2008.
• Fr. Vincent Robert 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.

Notable schools in Hong Kong which are still managed by the Maryknoll Fathers

1) Maryknoll Secondary School, formerly known as Maryknoll Technical Secondary School, a co-educational secondary school,

2) Maryknoll Senior High School, formerly known as Maryknoll Technical Secondary Evening School, a private co-educational evening school, senior forms only,

3) Maryknoll Fathers' School secondary section, a co-educational secondary school,

4) Maryknoll Fathers’ School primary section, a co-educational primary school,

5) 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 mission in China.

Other notable schools in Hong Kong which were 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.^[17] 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,^[14]
• Maryknoll Mission 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, 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.^[17]
• 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 of St. Dominic, commonly just known as 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.

(The first school founded by the Maryknollers in Hong Kong was called St. Louis Industrial School, set up in 1924, run by Brother Albert Staubli. It is no more in existence today.^[17] Likewise, the first school founded by the Maryknollers in China was called St. Thomas School, a primary school in Yangjiang (previously known as Yeungkong) with the first graduation held in July 1923.^[17] The second school founded by the Maryknollers in China was called Sacred Heart School, also a primary school, set up by Fr Bernard F. Meyer in Gaozhou (previously known as Kochow), with inauguration held on 5 Oct 1923. and first graduation in 1926 ^[17] Fr Adolph John Paschang once served in this Sacred Heart School in Gaozhou.^[18])

See also

• Catholicism in China
• Catholicism in Japan
• Catholicism in Korea
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Jiangmen
• Bishop Paschang Catholic School
• Maryknoll Mission School

References

1. ^ Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers
2. ^ "Maryknoll priests visit grave of Fr. Thomas F. Price in Hong Kong, China, 1923.". http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/search/controller/view/impa-m3378.html?x=1305383676508. Retrieved 2011-05-14. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Cherishing Maryknoll's History by Fr. Dennis Moorman, MM.
4. ^ Out to Change the World (a biography of Fr. James Keller) by Richard Armstrong, Crossroad Publishing Company (New York, 1984), p. 11. This work will be referred to as "Armstrong" hereinafter
5. ^ Smith, Jim, Downs, William (1978), Maryknoll Hong Kong Chronicle 1918 - 1975 (Chronicle), Catholic foreign Mission Society of America 
6. ^ ^{a b} Armstrong p. 15
7. ^ http://www.questia.com/library/encyclopedia/maryknoll.jsp
8. ^ ^{a b c} "A Brief History -- The sending of missioners from the U.S. Church was seen as a sign of the U.S. Catholic Church finally coming of age.". http://www.maryknollsociety.org/index.php/articles/2-articles/397-maryknoll-history. Retrieved 2011-05-01. 
9. ^ Jean-Paul WIEST (1988). Maryknoll In China – A history, 1918 -- 1955. M.E. Sharpe Inc, Armonk, NY. ISBN 0-87332-418-8. 
10. ^ "Bishop Ford Memorial School official web page". http://www.bfordms.edu.hk/. Retrieved 2011-04-30. 
11. ^ "Thomas Frederick Price -- A devout Catholic in the tar heel state of North Carolina, Rev. Thomas Frederick Price found a natural calling to share his faith in the midst of antipathy.". http://www.maryknollsociety.org/index.php/articles/2-articles/163-thomas-frederick-price. Retrieved 2011-05-01. 
12. ^ "Rev. MEYER, Bernard MM". http://archives.catholic.org.hk/In%20Memoriam/Clergy-Brother/B-Meyer.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-14. 
13. ^ "Rev. James E. Walsh M.M.". http://kc4076.org/walshbio.PDF. Retrieved 2011-05-14. 
14. ^ ^{a b} "Bishop Walsh Primary School official web page". http://www.bishopwalsh.edu.hk. Retrieved 2011-04-30. 
15. ^ "Bishop Paschang Catholic School official web page". http://bpcs.edu.hk. Retrieved 2011-04-28. 
16. ^ "Maryknoll Brothers Newsletter Vol. 22 No. 4, Nov 28, 2010". http://www.maryknollbrothers.org/news-nov-dec.pdf. Retrieved 2011-05-03. 
17. ^ ^{a b c d e} (Chinese (Taiwan)) BARRY, Peter (溫順天神父) (1977), 瑪利諾會在華傳教簡史 (Masters thesis), 台灣大學歷史學研究所 
18. ^ "Fr. Paschang and graduating class at Gaozhou, China, 1926". http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/search/controller/view/impa-m5118.html?x=1304224225835. Retrieved 2011-05-01. 

External links

• Maryknoll official website
• Orbis Books (publishing arm of Maryknoll)
• Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
• Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America statistics regarding Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers; accessed online December 11, 2006.
• Bishop Paschang Catholic School official website