Contact: Mike Virgintino,
Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers914-941-7636 ext 2219
OSSINING, N.Y., Sept. 7, 2018 /
Christian Newswire/ -- Today is the centennial commemoration of the first sending of missioners overseas by the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America that is more popularly known as the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers.
Photo: Maryknoll's first missioners. Seated, from left, is Father James E. Walsh, Father Thomas F. Price and Father Francis X. Ford. Standing is Father Bernard Meyer.
On September 7, 1918, after receiving Vatican approval to begin missionary work in China, four Maryknoll priests—Father Thomas F. Price (Maryknoll co-founder), Father James E. Walsh, Father Francis X. Ford and Father Bernard F. Meyer—departed the Maryknoll Society Center in Ossining, New York. They traveled across the United States and then they journeyed from California to China aboard the S.S. Ecuador to arrive at the first mission of Yeungkong and Loting in the province of Kwangtung.
During this centennial year, Maryknoll has celebrated its mission tradition of "Called-Sent-Transformed"—Called by name in community through baptism, Sent by the Catholic Church in the U.S. in missionary discipleship and Transformed by love through relationships and thankfulness.
The Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers follow Jesus in serving the poor and others in need in the U.S. and in more than 20 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. All Catholics are called to mission through baptism and confirmation, and Maryknoll's mission education outreach in parishes and schools throughout the U.S. engages Catholics in mission through vocations, prayer, donations and as volunteers. Maryknoll missioners share God's love and the Gospel in combating poverty, providing healthcare, building communities and promoting human rights. For more information, visit MaryknollSociety.org.
