Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers history

But in September 1912, when the family obligations that prevented Mary Josephine from leaving Boston had been satisfied, she joined them in their temporary home in Hawthorne, New York.

In 1916, the group chose to be Dominicans and eventually they were formed by the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa, Wisconsin.

The first departure of Maryknoll missionaries (September 7, 1918) from the steps of the original farm house that was located on the Ossining property.

The first stone in the concrete footing was laid a few weeks after the June 29, 1920 groundbreaking.

The Congregation was incorporated in the State of New York on November 7, 1921, as Sisters set out for Hong Kong and China.

At the first General Chapter in 1925, Mary Josephine was elected Mother General.

The news about the slow rise of the Seminary Building in Ossining was reported in a Maryknoll publication during 1926: “Crowning the…estate now is the new Seminary, a sturdy building of native field stone roofed with green tiles.

Mother Mary Joseph, often spoke of the Maryknoll Spirit “as being a reflection of the love of God, nothing more nor less than that, a reflection of the love of God.” (MMJ: 1932)

He also was the master organizer, fundraiser and publicist that led to the advancement of Maryknoll. It is difficult to find any aspect of the foundation of Maryknoll that did not benefit from the direction and oversight of Father Walsh, who became a bishop on June 29, 1933.

He acted as spiritual father and co-founder, with Mother Mary Joseph Rogers, of the Foreign Mission Sisters of St Dominic (now called Maryknoll Sisters of St Dominic). He served as Superior General of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers until his death in 1936.

Mother Mary Joseph (her religious name) was re-elected to that office at subsequent General Chapters until her retirement in 1946 at the age of 64.

During the decade of the 1950’s, the Maryknoll Sisters served the Chinese people in New York, Boston, and Chicago as well as African Americans in the Bronx, New York.

Not until February 16, 1953 did general contractors begin construction of the chapel.

The Maryknoll Sisters became a Pontifical Institute in 1954 and the name of the Congregation was changed to Maryknoll Sisters of St Dominic.

In 1955, his remains, together with those of Bishop James A. Walsh, were finally interred in the crypt below the Maryknoll Seminary Chapel.

Following the directives of the Vatican Council II, the Maryknoll Sisters held a special General Assembly in 1968 and entered into a period of renewal and adaptation with changes in lifestyle and ministries.

In the 1970’s, the Sisters began ministry in Indonesia, Southern Sudan and Bangladesh.

By the beginning of the 1980’s, justice had surfaced as a world issue, the Maryknoll Sisters were focusing their efforts on the cause of the poor.

The Vatican Congregation for Religious approved the updated Constitution of the Maryknoll sisters in 1990.

In 1991, five Sisters began working with Nobel Peace Laureate Bishop Carlos Belo in East Timor.

In 1992, because of wartime conditions in Sudan, Maryknoll Sisters were forced to leave that country.

By 1994, new ministries began in American Samoa, Cambodia, Namibia and Papua New Guinea.

In 2005, the Maryknoll Sisters began a new mission serving the people in Myanmar.

In January 2012, the Maryknoll Sisters celebrated their 100th anniversary as a Congregation, marked by Masses and receptions of various kinds at the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Ossining, New York and in many other countries where the Sisters served.

by Lynn F. Monahan | Nov 18, 2014 | Maryknoll Video, The Field Afar