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2015 Maryknoll Society Jubilarians

2015 Maryknoll Society Jubilarians

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Thirty-eight Maryknollers are commemorating ordinations to the priesthood or Final Oath as Maryknoll Brothers in ceremonies held at the Maryknoll Mission Center in Ossining, New York, on Sunday, June 28, 2015.

Among them are the following:

65th

samoa_norrisfrank1Brother Frank J. Norris, M.M.

Brother Frank J. Norris, M.M., of Cincinnati, Ohio, celebrates his 65th anniversary of his First Oath as a Maryknoll Brother. Before entering religious life, Brother Frank served two years in the United States Army Air Corps.

Brother Frank’s mission work includes:

1961-1975: Assigned to Tanzania, East Africa, to serve in the Shinyanga Diocese to oversee construction and maintenance work in the various missions of the diocese.
1978-1997: Assigned to Western Samoa as chancery administrator and technical director under Cardinal Pio Taofinu’u.

Brother Frank was born on February 14, 1926 in Cincinnati. He attended St. Clare and St. Martin Parochial Schools and graduated from Elder High School.

60th

korea_beninatifrancis1Father Francis Henry Beninati, M.M.

Father Francis Henry Beninati, M.M., of Farmington, Connecticut, celebrates his 60th anniversary of ordination as a Maryknoll priest.

Father Beninati’s mission work includes:

1957-1980, 1986-1992: Assigned to Korea to work in Masan, Pusan and other large urban areas. He initiated a number of projects to care for refugees and the poor. These projects included housing, water supply systems, electrification, animal husbandry, night school for working children, schools for the poor, credit unions and a variety of small church communities. While pastor of inner-city parishes in the diocese of Pusan, Father Beninati also served as director of Hansen’s Disease Villages and Service from 1960 to 1992. He also was the director of the Vietnamese resettlement and refugee camp in Pusan from 1988 to 1992.
1992: Oversaw Maryknoll’s entrance into Vietnam, where he taught in Ho Chi Minh City.
1993-2000: Accepted an invitation to serve in the Korean Autonomous Province of China, an area formerly known as Manchuria, where he taught English, writing and conversation in Yanji City. He taught at Yanbian University, Yanbian Nursing College and Yanbian Vocational Training School.

Father Henry Beninati was born on January 11, 1928, in Farmington, Connecticut, where he attended Noah Wallace Elementary School. He graduated from St. Thomas High School in Bloomfield, Connecticut, and he attended St. Thomas Seminary, also in Bloomfield, before entering Maryknoll. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a master’s degree in religious education from the Maryknoll School of Theology in Maryknoll, New York.

60th

japan_colliganjames1Father James P. Colligan, M.M.

Father James P. Colligan, M.M., of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, celebrates his 60th anniversary of ordination as a Maryknoll priest.

Father Colligan’s mission work includes:

1955-1966: Assigned to Japan with parish assignments in Sapporo and Kyoto Dioceses. Served four years as pastor and kindergarten principal in the coal mining town of Mikasa in Hokkaido. He also was an instructor in English literature at the Iwamizawa Division of Hokkaido University.

During 1968, Father Colligan accepted a short-term assignment with the public information office of the Japan Bishops’ Conference and then obtained Japanese Government accreditation as a correspondent of the U.S. Bishops’ News Service in Washington, D.C. He served a year as Tokyo Bureau Chief for the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCAN) and then resumed his affiliation with the U.S. Bishops’ agency, now known as Catholic News Service (CNS). He was thrice elected chairman of Foreign Press in Japan (FPIJ), the organization representing foreign media interests.

Father Colligan was born on October 2, 1928 in Pittsburgh. He attended St. Mary’s Grade School and graduated from Central Catholic High School. After two years at Duquesne University, Father Colligan entered Maryknoll. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Maryknoll College. From the Maryknoll Seminary he earned an S.T.B. degree in sacred theology and a master’s degree in religious education. He also holds a master’s degree in journalism from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School.

60th

tanzania_ohmanndaniel4Father Daniel F. Ohmann, M.M.

Father Daniel F. Ohmann, M.M., of Greenwald, Minnesota, celebrates his 60th anniversary of ordination as a Maryknoll priest.

Father Ohmann’s mission work includes:

1964-1996: Assigned to Tanzania, where he served as pastor of the Ndoleleji Catholic Church, a parish of 27 villages. Father Ohmann trained church leaders for these villages and was active in developing hospitals, clinics and agricultural projects. A highlight of Father Ohmann’s years at the village of Ndoleleji was the construction of windmills for the village drinking-water supply.

Although Father Ohmann retired during 1996, he remains in Africa working with the Watatulu tribe in the Diocese of Shinyanga.

Father Ohmann was born on July 6, 1927, in Greenwald, where he attended District 51 Grammar School. He graduated from Melrose Public High School in Melrose, Minnesota. In 1945, he entered the United States Army. Following his honorable discharge, he studied math and music at St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota, before entering Maryknoll. Father Ohmann holds bachelor degrees in philosophy and sacred theology from the Maryknoll Seminary.

60th

samoa_weitzelquinn1Bishop John Quinn Weitzel, M.M.

Bishop John Quinn Weitzel, M.M., of Chicago, Illinois, celebrates his 60th anniversary of ordination as a Maryknoll priest.

Bishop Weitzel’s mission work includes:

1979-2013: Assigned to Western Samoa, he served as pastor of Falealupo, one of the most remote parishes in that country. He was consecrated as the first bishop of Samoa-Pago Pago during 1986.

Bishop Weitzel was born on May 10, 1928, in Chicago. He attended St. Francis Xavier grade school in LaGrange, Illinois, and St. Luke’s grade school in River Forest, Illinois. After graduating from Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois, he entered Maryknoll. Bishop Weitzel earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a master’s degree in religious education from the Maryknoll School of Theology. He holds a PMD in business administration from Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

50th

china_barrypeter1Father Peter James Barry, M.M.

Father Peter James Barry, M.M., of Troy, New York, celebrates his 50th anniversary of ordination as a Maryknoll priest.

Father Barry’s mission work includes:

1965-1969: Assigned to the Maryknoll Mission Region in Taiwan and appointed pastor of the Chingan Mission. He also served as pastor of Namchong Mission in the Hsin Chu Diocese.
1972-1979: Worked with students in St. Vincent Student Center in Shihlin, Taipei City. He was appointed third assistant to the Maryknoll regional superior in Taiwan.
1979-2013: Assigned to Hong Kong to work in Maryknoll’s China Liaison Program. This work entailed research on China and occasional trips into Mainland China. He also taught English at the Hunan College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Changsha, China, and church history and English at seminaries in China. Currently, he works with the China Liaison Program and serves at the Holy Spirit Study Centre in Hong Kong. His missionary ministry includes working to build the local church by teaching in seminaries. He also serves as a manager for the Maryknoll Secondary School in Ngautaukok, Kowloon.

Father Barry was born on February 13, 1939, in Troy, where he attended St. Mary’s Parochial School and graduated from LaSalle Institute. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the Maryknoll Junior Seminary. At the Maryknoll Seminary, he received a Bachelor of Divinity and a master’s degree in religious education. Father Barry also holds a master’s degree in modern Chinese history from National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.

50th

georgia_blazojohn1Brother John Blazo, M.M.

Brother John J. Blazo, M.M., of Hempstead, New York, celebrates the 50th anniversary of his First Oath as a Maryknoll Brother.

Brother Blazo’s mission work includes:

1975-1982: Assigned to Nicaragua and Guatemala, traveling from village to village to train lay leaders and work in health and literacy projects. He also worked with adult leaders and local people in catechetical programs for sacramental preparation. With the help of the parish youth catechists and the local Boy Scouts troop, Brother Blazo instituted a small recreation center and library for the youth of the town of Poptun in the Petén area of Guatemala. A direct result of this work was the reopening of the town library.

Speaking about his mission career, Brother Blazo recently said: “Working in Nicaragua and Guatemala gave me deep insights into my Catholic faith and applying it as I learned about people and their histories in these countries in the midst of personal and structural violence.”

Brother Blazo was born in Rockville Centre, New York, on October 18, 1945. He attended Our Lady of Loretto Parochial School in Hempstead. After graduating from Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, New York, he entered the Maryknoll Brothers Novitiate. He earned an associate’s degree in liberal arts from Westchester Community College, Valhalla, New York, a bachelor’s degree in adult education from Rogers College at Maryknoll and a certificate in educación pastoral y renovación personal from the Instituto De Religión en Cultura del Mexican American Cultural Center, San Antonio, Texas.

50th

bolivia_chabotpeter1Father Peter Lawrence Chabot, M.M.

Father Peter Laurence Chabot, M.M., of Ontonagon, Michigan, celebrates his 50th anniversary of ordination as a Maryknoll priest.

Father Chabot’s mission work includes:

1965-1988: He has served his entire overseas mission career in Bolivia. He served as assistant pastor in the Altiplano parish of Achacachi, 13,000 feet above sea level in the Andes Mountains. He also served in the Pando Vicariate, traveling up and down the Beni River to visit the people who lived in the jungle river communities. Father Chabot served two consecutive terms as Regional Superior of Maryknoll’s Bolivia Region.

In 1978, speaking about his mission career, Father Chabot said: “It’s been a privilege to do this kind of work, and I’ve found the work in the Beni and Altiplano areas very challenging and satisfying. The associations with people who live a different kind of existence are especially meaningful to me.”

Father Chabot was born on August 9, 1932, in Ontonagon. He attended Ontonagon Grammar School and graduated from Ontonagon High School. Father Chabot attended the Michigan College of Mining before enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps during 1951. He served as a sergeant until his 1954 honorable discharge. A year later, Father Chabot entered the Maryknoll Junior Seminary. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Maryknoll College and a Bachelor of Divinity and a master’s degree in religious education from the Maryknoll Seminary.

50th

guatemala_donnellywilliam2Father William J. Donnelly, M.M.

Father William J. Donnelly, M.M., of Bloomington, Illinois, celebrates his 50th anniversary of ordination as a Maryknoll priest.

Before entering religious life, Father Donnelly served in the United States Army. After completing a course in clinical psychology, he was assigned to work with clinical psychologists at a military prison in Neosho, Missouri. After his honorable discharge from the army, Father Donnelly worked as a commercial artist before entering Maryknoll during 1958.

Father Donnelly’s mission work includes:

1965-1990: Assigned to Guatemala and to a parish in Chiantla, Huehuetenango. During 1969, he was assigned to the Villa de Guadalupe in Guatemala City. He was named director of the Center for Integral Development for the Diocese of Huehuetenango and later served as pastor of the Cathedral Parish of the city of Huehuetenango. He then moved to Jacaltenango to serve as pastor of Santa Cruz Barillas in Huehuetenango. Hundreds of Father Donnelly’s parishioners from this area were killed during Guatemala’s civil war.
1998-2001: Appointed regional superior for Maryknoll’s Central America Region.
2001-2004: Served as assistant to Maryknoll’s regional superior of Latin America. He also served as coordinator in the Northern District, primarily responsible for Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua.
2013-Present: Assigned again to Guatemala and currently divides his time between the United States and Guatemala. During the summer, he performs mission education and promotion work in the U.S. Midwest and eight months of the year he serves in Petén, Guatemala.

Father Donnelly was born on August 28, 1933, in Bloomington. After moving with his family to Peoria, Illinois, he attended St. Cecilia Elementary School and graduated from Peoria Central High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Bradley University in Peoria. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a master’s degree in religious education from the Maryknoll School of Theology.

50th

peru_henehanthomas1Father Thomas Henehan, M.M.

Father Thomas Henehan, M.M., of Chicago, Illinois, celebrates his 50th anniversary of ordination as a Maryknoll priest.

Father Henehan’s mission work includes:

1971-1975: Assigned to Guatemala, where he worked with youth and served as head track coach of the national team. He also started a youth center under the Archdiocese of Guatemala City.
1975-1996: Assigned to Chile, where he was appointed second consultor to Maryknoll’s regional superior. He initiated The Center for Pastoral Reflection in Santiago. Thousands of lay leaders have been formed and accompanied by professionals and experienced teachers who have staffed the programs at the center. During1988, he was appointed assistant regional superior for Maryknoll’s Chile Region. A year later, he was appointed regional superior for a three-year term, a post to which he was re-appointed during 1992. In 1994, Father Henehan’s position was changed to that of regional superior of Maryknoll’s new Andean Region, encompassing Chile and Peru.
2003-Present: A member of the Maryknoll Mission in Latin America (CMMAL) located in Cochabamba, Bolivia. He collaborates with the Maryknoll Hispanic Outreach in the U.S. (Discipulos Misioneros Maryknoll) in its effort to partner with various mission-oriented organizations working with the Hispanic community. One of the projects is a four-year mission formation program (2012-2016) in partnership with the Hispanic Pastoral Institute known as Fe y Vida.

Father Henehan was born September 6, 1938, in Chicago. He attended Our Lady of Lourdes Parochial School in Chicago and graduated from Loyola Academy, Wilmette, Illinois. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Holy Cross College, Worcester, Massachusetts.

He holds a Bachelor of Divinity degree from the Maryknoll Seminary and a master’s degree in Asian studies from Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey.

50th

mexico_hilgemanjames1Father James L. Hilgeman, M.M.

Father James L. Hilgeman, M.M., of St. Louis, Missouri, celebrates his 50th anniversary of ordination as a Maryknoll priest.

Father Hilgeman’s mission work includes:

1965-1976: Assigned to Mexico, where he served as pastor among the Mayan people at Santa Cruz Parish, Carrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo, and then at San Sebastián Parish in Mérida and then in Col. Arenal in Mexico City.
1977-1988, 1993-2000: Volunteered for Maryknoll’s newly formed Mission Unit in Brazil. He served as unit coordinator for three years. During 2001, he was appointed assistant to the regional superior of Latin America and district coordinator of the Northern District.

Father Hilgeman was born on June 5, 1938 in St. Louis, where he attended St. Mary Magdalen Parochial School. He then entered the Maryknoll Junior Seminary in St. Louis. Father Hilgeman holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the Maryknoll College and a Master of Divinity degree from the Maryknoll Seminary.

50th

philippines_martithomas1Father Thomas J. Marti, M.M.

Father Thomas J. Marti, M.M., of Seattle, Washington, celebrates the 50th anniversary of his ordination as a Maryknoll priest.

Father Marti’s mission work includes:

1965-1975, 1983-1990: Assigned to the Philippines and served as assistant parish priest in St. Francis Xavier Parish in Sigaboy, Southeastern Mindanao, and at Christ the King Parish in Tagum, Davao del Norte. He was appointed the first Social Action Director of the Prelature, promoting literacy, family life education and the organization of farmers and teachers. He was instrumental in organizing the Mindanao-Sulu Secretariat of Social Action (MISSA), and he became its first executive secretary. Later, Father Hilgeman served as associate pastor in Malangas, Zamboanga del Sur, in Southwestern Mindanao. During 1985, the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines (AMRSP) requested that Father Marti create an international network of solidarity. He served as director of the International Solidarity Network Desk (ISND) of the AMRSP Justice and Peace Commission for five years.

Father Marti was born on May 12, 1937 in Seattle, where he attended St. Edward’s Parochial School. After graduating from O’Dea High School, he entered the Maryknoll Junior Seminary in Los Altos, California. Father Marti earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the Maryknoll College, and a bachelor of Divinity and a master’s degree in religious education from the Maryknoll Seminary.

50th

philippines_mcquadedonald1Father Donald P. McQuade, M.M.

Father Donald P. McQuade, M.M., of Astoria, New York, celebrates his 50th anniversary of ordination as a Maryknoll priest.

Father McQuade’s mission work includes:

1965-1968, 1971-2005 : Assigned to the Prelature of Tagum, Mindanao, the Philippines.

Except for a brief assignment in Kalimantan, (Borneo) Indonesia, during 1977, his entire mission career has focused on the Philippines. His ministries have included clinical pastoral education, counseling alcoholics and drug addicts, retreat work, parish apostolate and writing.

Father McQuade was born on February 6, 1931 in Astoria, where he attended St. Joseph’s Parish School. He graduated from Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School, Brooklyn, New York. After earning a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Fordham University, Bronx, New York, Father McQuade joined the United States Army. He served as a first lieutenant in Japan and was honorably discharged on April 18, 1955. Father McQuade worked for a shipping company in New York and in Europe before entering Maryknoll during 1960. He holds a bachelor’s degree in theology and a master’s degree in religious education from the Maryknoll Seminary.

40th

tanzania_bassanomichael2Father Michael D. Bassano, M.M.

Father Michael D. Bassano, M.M., of Binghamton, New York, celebrates the 40th anniversary of his ordination as a priest.

Following ordination in the Diocese of Syracuse, New York, on May 16, 1975, Father Bassano served as associate pastor at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Utica, New York, St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Binghamton, New York, and St. John’s Church in Utica. Father Bassano then applied to the Maryknoll Associate Priest/Brother Program. He signed his first contract during 1987.

Father Bassano’s mission work includes:

1987-1997: Assigned to Santiago, Chile, where he worked in the marginal areas of the city. Father Bassano’s interpretation of the Gospels occurred through song and theater in the plazas of the city. He also worked with the prisoners in Santiago. During 1992, Father Bassano extended his contract for an additional five years and continued his work and ministry in Chile.
1997-2008: Father Bassano applied for incardination into the Maryknoll Society and was accepted on October 27, 1997. After taking his first oath on January 27, 1998, Father Bassano was assigned to the Overseas Training Program in Bangkok, Thailand. He worked with HIV/AIDS patients and with orphaned and abused children in the slum of Khlong Tory in Bangkok.
2008-2013: Assigned to Tanzania. He ministered to people afflicted with HIV/AIDS and welcomed the mentally and physically challenged, the homeless and the abused to the House of Compassion in Musoma, Tanzania.
2013-Present: Assigned to Kenya and South Sudan.

Father Bassano was born on December 22, 1948, in Binghamton, where he graduated from Seton Catholic Central High School. He holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Wadhams Hall Seminary College, Ogdensburg, New York, and a Master of Divinity degree from St. Bernard’s Seminary, Rochester, New York.

40th

philippines_kroegerjames2Father James H. Kroeger, M.M.

Father James H. Kroeger, M.M., of Appleton, Wisconsin, celebrates his 40th anniversary of ordination as a Maryknoll priest.

Father Kroeger’s mission work includes:

1975-1982, 1985-Present: Assigned to the Philippines, where he was appointed director of the Maryknoll Institute of Language and Culture in Davao City, a post he filled on two occasions for a total of 10 years. He also served as assistant parish priest in St. James Parish, Cateel, Davao Oriental, and he was resident professor, library director and academic dean at the St. Francis Xavier Regional Major Seminary in Davao City. Father Kroeger taught in various capacities at the Davao Major Seminary, the Philippine Lay Mission Program, the Mother of Life Catechetical Institute and the Jesuit Loyola School of Theology in Manila. He was consultor on the Maryknoll Philippine Regional Council from 1986 to 1990. He was appointed full professor in the Pontifical Faculty of Theology at the Loyola School of Theology in Manila. He currently serves with the Office of Evangelization of the FABC (Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences), is executive secretary of AMSAL (Asian Missionary Societies of Apostolic Life) and serves as president of PACM (Philippine Association of Catholic Missiologists).

Father Kroeger was born in Appleton on December 4, 1945. He attended St. Mary’s Elementary School in Greenville. Father Kroeger’s high school and junior college studies were at the Sacred Heart Seminary in Oneida, Wisconsin. He graduated from St. Paul Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota, with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and psychology, and he entered Maryknoll the same year. He holds master’s degrees in divinity and theology from the Maryknoll Seminary and licentiate and doctorate degrees in missiology from the Gregorian University in Rome, Italy.

25th

kilkellytimothy1Father Timothy O. Kilkelly, M.M.

Father Timothy O. Kilkelly, M.M., of Minneapolis, Minnesota, celebrates his 25th anniversary of ordination as a Maryknoll priest.

Father Kilkelly’s mission work includes:

1990-1998, 2000-2002: Assigned to Hong Kong and served in pastoral ministry for five years at Saints Peter and Paul Church. He also served in prison ministry and as the chaplain for Catholic youth at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
2009-2012: Assigned to Maryknoll’s China mission. Since 2013, he has served as project coordinator of the Maryknoll Chinese Seminary Teachers & Formators Project. The project recruits, arranges programs for academic study and accompanies students during their study period in the United States.

Father Kilkelly was born on August 23, 1959, in Minneapolis. He attended Holy Family Grammar School in Minneapolis and graduated from Benilde St. Margaret’s High School in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Father Kilkelly earned a bachelor’s degree in German and business from the College of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota. He received a Masters of Divinity degree from the Maryknoll School of Theology and a licentiate degree in spirituality from the Gregorian University in Rome, Italy.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Chinese priests, nuns spend years in U.S. to prepare for leadership

Chinese priests, nuns spend years in U.S. to prepare for leadership

RONKONKOMA, N.Y. (CNS) — As Pope Francis’ plane was cruising through Chinese airspace in mid-August en route to his first visit to the Far East, 20 Chinese priests and nuns were assembling halfway around the globe at a retreat house in the United States, preparing to begin a week of quiet prayer and reflection.

The gathering at the Cenacle Retreat Center in Long Island, New York, was affiliated with the Chinese Seminary Teachers and Formators Project, an initiative launched by Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers in 1991 to help train priests and women religious for various leadership roles in the church in China.

“It’s Maryknoll’s way of cooperating with the Chinese bishops and religious superiors to help the church in China grow,” explained Maryknoll Father Larry Lewis, who has been involved with the project for 21 years.

The Chinese participants in the program “are under a lot of pressure in this country, studying for a master’s or doctoral degree in another language,” said Fr. Lewis, former project coordinator. “This gives them a chance to leave that pressure behind.”

altMost of the summer retreats associated with the project have been preached retreats, allowing for interaction between retreatants and presenters. This year’s, however, was a directed silent retreat, where each retreatant met one hour a day with a spiritual director who recommended Scripture readings and provided individual counsel. The rest of the day, between meals, was spent in solitary prayer and reflection, with the group gathering for Mass before dinner.

“Part of the whole experience here, and we know this from being missionaries and going abroad, you have an opportunity in another culture to see yourself differently, see your faith differently, see the church differently,” Fr. Lewis said. “Being in an unfamiliar situation, you don’t have the usual escapes at hand. It’s very important the spiritual immersion that we offer through the retreat help them look at that and learn from that. It’s a wonderful experience.”

altMaryknoll Sister Janet Carroll, who has been involved with the project from the beginning, said the retreat is a welcome respite for the priests and nuns. The self-imposed and cultural pressure to excel in a foreign environment can be overwhelming, she said.

“They have to study five times as much as a regular student every waking hour,” Sr. Janet said.

Chinese participants are handpicked by their bishops and religious superiors to continue their higher education in the U.S. under the auspices of a Maryknoll-appointed project coordinator, who directs them to schools that offer advanced degrees in coursework relevant to the needs of their dioceses and religious communities.

Areas of study include:
• canon law
• liturgy
• spiritual direction
• church history
• pastoral counseling
• ethics
• family therapy
• social work

Most participants enroll in master’s programs, while some work toward doctoral degrees. Before being accepted into the program, candidates must possess a bachelor’s or equivalent certification.

The biggest obstacle participants face when arriving in the U.S. is the language barrier. In order to succeed in the classroom, they must be proficient in English. So following their orientation at Maryknoll headquarters in New York, participants immerse themselves in English as a Second Language classes for a few months before they transition to their chosen college or university.

Project participants are placed at Catholic schools throughout the country. Those institutions have included Boston College; Catholic Theological Union, Chicago; The Catholic University of America, Washington; Fordham University, Bronx, New York; Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara, California; Loyola University Chicago; St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota; St. Mary’s University of Minnesota, Winona; and St. Vincent College, Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

altOn average, participants study in the U.S. for four years before returning to China, where they serve the church in various capacities, including as:
• diocesan administrators
• seminary rectors
• religious superiors
• academic deans
• spiritual directors
• retreat center directors
• teachers
• social service coordinators

Five graduates were ultimately ordained bishops.

Graduates of the program also minister in the public square, serving people of all faiths or no faith, spreading the Gospel message through their various skill sets.

“One of our priest-graduates started the first social center in Xi’an (more than 10 years ago),” Fr. Lewis said. “And it’s still going strong.”

Project participants also convene each year between academic sessions at Maryknoll in late December for a one-week seminar that focuses on such topics as interreligious dialogue; domestic violence; AIDS education; hospice care; and sex, alcohol, drug and gambling addiction.

The summer retreat and winter seminar provide an opportunity for the priests and nuns to connect with one another and to develop friendships that many maintain when they return home.

altFr. Lewis said the fraternal spirit generated in the U.S. bears fruit for the church in China.

“They invite each other to give seminars and lead retreats and teach courses,” Fr. Lewis said. “Last year they had an official reunion of alumni in China.”

Because of the intensity and duration of the program, participants are required to go home for a month or two midway through their stay to reconnect with their dioceses, religious communities and families.

“China is changing so rapidly, so it’s important to keep them in contact with their dioceses and religious congregations,” said Fr. Lewis. “That’s been a huge factor in helping them remember why they’re here. They’re here to go back.”

Maryknoll’s annual budget for the project is $700,000, said Fr. Lewis. The society pays for participants’ travel expenditures; medical expenses not covered by the sponsoring institution or religious community; tuition costs not covered by scholarships; and costs associated with the annual retreat and seminar. The project also pays for the project coordinator’s assistant, who handles the daily administrative duties.

As with many religious communities, Maryknoll has fewer personnel as a result of the decline in vocations to priestly and consecrated life. The project, however, has helped the society continue its evangelization efforts in a country its missioners first visited in 1918.

“I have tremendous respect for this project,” said Fr. Lewis. “I think it’s a very sane way of doing mission now.”

Sr. Janet concurred: “We are able to do what Maryknoll was founded to do, which is to support the local church and to build up the local church. In lieu of having our own men and women live and work in China, we’re able to channel the money directly into the church in China.”

 

2014 Maryknoll Society Jubilarians

2014 Maryknoll Society Jubilarians

On Sunday, June 29, the Maryknoll Society will commemorate anniversaries of ordination to the priesthood or Final Oath as a Maryknoll Brother for 31 jubilarians. Ceremonies will be held at the Maryknoll Mission Center in Ossining, New York.

A number of the Maryknoll jubilarians have shared information about their work in mission in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the U.S. During the second half of June and continuing through the summer, all of the 2014 Maryknoll jubilarians will be celebrated in the Maryknoll Museum of Living Mission located in the Maryknoll Mission Center.

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Father Lam Minh Hua Ordained At Maryknoll

Father Lam Minh Hua Ordained At Maryknoll

altFather Lam Minh Hua, M.M., originally from Vietnam and now from Tacoma, Washington, is the newest Maryknoll Society priest. Father Hua, 28, was ordained into the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers on Saturday, May 31, 2014 at the Maryknoll Society Mission Center in Ossining, New York.

The Mass of Ordination at Maryknoll’s Queen of Apostles Chapel was celebrated by His Excellency Archbishop Bernard Anthony Hebda, coadjutor archbishop of the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey. Maryknoll Superior General Father Edward M. Dougherty was a concelebrant along with more than 50 priests from the Maryknoll Society and other religious groups.

Later that same day, Father Hua received his missionary crucifix at the Maryknoll Sending Ceremony that presents Maryknoll missioners to the world. After the summer, he will be assigned to serve in mission in the Africa region. Father Hua hopes to join three other Maryknoll priests who already serve in mission in South Sudan.

Father Hua celebrated his first Mass at Maryknoll’s Queen of Apostles Chapel on Sunday, June 1. During June, he also celebrated Mass in English and Vietnamese in his home parish.

Learning About Maryknoll

Father Hua was born into a Catholic family in the hamlet of LaNang on the outskirts of the eastern coastal province of Da Nang in Vietnam. His parents were rice farmers. Years earlier, Father Hua’s own father had been a seminarian. But, this path ended during Vietnam’s war. The elder Hua served on the side of South Vietnam and became a prisoner of the north.

Upon receiving permission 21 years ago to emigrate to the U.S., the family, which included Father Hua’s younger brother, Vien, arrived in the Archdiocese of Seattle and settled in Tacoma. As a teenager, Father Hua volunteered in his local parish and learned about the work of missionaries who came to the U.S. during the 1800s. Seeing a copy of Maryknoll magazine, he also learned about the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers and its work in foreign mission.

“The stories in the magazine motivated me to learn more,” said Father Hua. “As I learned more about Maryknoll, I also learned more about my own vocational calling. Since I went through the public school system all my life until college, I depended on weekly religious education and my church life to foster my faith, wherein I found strength through being an ‘active’ Christian.”

While completing his studies at Saint Xavier University in Chicago, earning a degree in philosophy with minors in history and religion, Father Hua participated in retreats and visited a Maryknoll mission in Cambodia. He witnessed outreach to people with AIDS in a program managed by Father James Noonan, M.M.

Soon after, while completing a master of divinity degree with a concentration in world mission at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, Father Hua spent two years in Tanzania to learn Swahili. While there, he witnessed and participated in the mission work in Musoma of the late Father Ramon McCabe, M.M.

Building A Church

altWhile in Tanzania, at a parish on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam, Father Hua was encouraged to venture out on his own by Father John Waldrep, M.M. Father Hua traveled to a village far from the regular parish. With his encouragement, the people cleared an overgrown plot of land in the middle of a field close to the village and then began bringing poles, tarps, sticks and wood to build their own church.

“Every Sunday, when I got there, I’d see they’d added more poles, more tarp. It was a really beautiful way to pray, out in the middle of nature. They were people of great faith. They came every week, bringing their own chairs and mats. The beauty of this experience is that because I said, ‘OK, let’s do it,’ they were able to build that little outpost church. If I hadn’t gone out there, they would have had no one to say ‘yes.’ That’s all they were waiting for. They were all ready.”

As the newest priest in the Maryknoll Society, Father Hua now is ready to begin his work in mission.

To learn more about Father Lam Minh Hua, please read the article “The Road to God” that appears in the May/June 2014 issue of Maryknoll magazine.

Cause for Beatification and Canonization for Maryknoll’s Bishop James A. Walsh

Cause for Beatification and Canonization for Maryknoll’s Bishop James A. Walsh

Bishop James A. Walsh The year commemorating the centennial of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers has again been blessed. The Maryknoll Society is rejoicing for the cause for beatification and canonization of Maryknoll Society co-founder Bishop James A. Walsh.

On Wednesday, November 9, 2011 at the Archdiocese of New York in New York City, the cause for beatification and canonization of Bishop Walsh was formally opened by the diocesan tribunal led by Monsignor Douglas Mathers. Receiving official approval from the Vatican to begin, the procedure now is formally in place to pursue the cause for beatification of Bishop Walsh in the Archdiocese of New York.

Attendees at the ceremony included Father Edward M. Dougherty, superior general of the Maryknoll Society who has served the mission of the Church in Africa. All official witnesses took their oaths on the Bible to discharge their respective obligations with integrity and honesty.

The next steps in the process include:

•   Obtaining formal witness testimony.

Since few people today actually met Bishop Walsh, who died during 1936, his cause is considered, technically, an “historical” cause. Most evidence will be textual. Witnesses to be called will be faithful Catholics willing to testify as to their belief in Bishop Walsh’s reputation for sanctity and heroic virtue.

A second class of witnesses will be divided into groups of historians and theologians. Historians are charged with gathering and guaranteeing the authenticity of any documentation on the life, works and faith of Bishop Walsh that includes all published and unpublished writings. They will submit reports about his writings along with a biographical sketch. The theologians will examine the papers and then issue reports verifying the integrity of the candidate and absence of any defect of faith and morals.

•   Documentation delivered to Rome.

Once the cause is complete at the diocesan level, all documentation will be delivered to Rome for the second phase of the process. Reports and documentation again will be examined. Further documentation, including any possible testimony of miraculous intervention, will be gathered.

•   Prayers and inquiries of others.

During the process, anyone interested in the cause of Bishop Walsh is welcome to inquire about him at Maryknoll, offer pertinent faith experience and offer prayers of support of the cause, and, especially, of the mission of the Church to which Bishop Walsh dedicated his life.

Monsignor Douglas Mathers, second from left, vice chancellor of the archdiocese and episcopal delegate for the cause, joins Auxiliary Bishop Dennis Sullivan, the archdiocese’s vicar general, right; Father Edward M. Dougherty, M.M, superior general of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, second from right; and Father Michael P. Walsh, M.M., member of the historical commission, left, at the swearing-in ceremony for the opening of the sainthood cause of Maryknoll co-founder Bishop James A. Walsh at the Catholic Center in Manhattan on November 9.

Monsignor Douglas Mathers, second from left, vice chancellor of the archdiocese and episcopal delegate for the cause, joins Auxiliary Bishop Dennis Sullivan, the archdiocese’s vicar general, right; Father Edward M. Dougherty, M.M, superior general of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, second from right; and Father Michael P. Walsh, M.M., member of the historical commission, left, at the swearing-in ceremony for the opening of the sainthood cause of Maryknoll co-founder Bishop James A. Walsh at the Catholic Center in Manhattan on November 9. Photo courtesy of Catholic New York.

Beatification and Canonization Witnesses

•   Postulator:  Dr. Andrea Ambrosi
•   Episcopal Delegate: Reverend Msgr. Douglas J. Mathers
•   Promoter of Justice: Reverend Richard Welch C.Ss.R.
•   Actual Notary: Maryknoll employee Marie Ray
•   Adjunct Notary: Maryknoll employee Maureen Foster
•   Copyist: Maryknoll employee Holly E. Brown
•   Members of the Historical Commission (3): Reverend Michael P. Walsh, M.M. (who has served the mission of the Church in South China), Alan B. Delozier and Paul F. Gibbons
•   Members of the Theological Commission (2): Patrick Hayes and Reverend Mark Francis O’Malley

About Bishop James A. Walsh

James Walsh was born to middle-class parents (James Walsh and Hanna Shea) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on February 24, 1867. After attending public elementary school, he graduated from Boston College High School with skills in debating and journalism. He attended Boston College but later transferred to Harvard College to study bookkeeping. Studies were completed at St. John’s Seminary in nearby Brighton.

At the seminary, Father Walsh was inspired by a rector, a Sulpician (a society of secular priests founded during 15th century France) whose classmate in Paris, Theophane Venard, had died as a famous martyr in Indochina. A decade after his 1892 ordination at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Father Walsh retraced Venard’s steps in France along with those of other French martyrs, and he became convinced that the blood of martyrs is the seed of the church.

Father Walsh served as curate at St. Patrick’s Church in Roxbury until he was appointed diocesan director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith during 1903. Among his responsibilities was to raise money to support overseas mission, and during this time, he began to develop his vision, a modernized version of mission, for a mature U.S. Church that was eager to fulfill exciting and joyful missionary responsibilities around the world.

Along with the Catholic Foreign Mission Bureau, Father Walsh founded The Field Afar magazine, a monthly publication about the foreign missions of the Catholic Church. Years later, this magazine would become the Maryknoll magazine that continues to be published today (along with its bilingual counterpart Revista Maryknoll) by the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers.

During 1910, at the 21st Eucharistic Conference in Montreal, Father Walsh shared his vision of U.S. Catholic mission with Father Thomas Frederick Price of North Carolina. Realizing they shared a common call to mission, the urbane Father Walsh and the more rural Father Price collaborated on plans for a mission society within the U.S. Catholic Church. Soon after, the bishops of the United States formally sanctioned the pursuit of their vision to recruit, send and support U.S. missioners around the world.

With this approval, Father Walsh and Father Price traveled to Rome to present their vision of mission. They received the blessing of Pope Pius X on June 29, 1911 (the feast of Saints Peter and Paul), which is the founding day of the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America that, over the years, has become more well-known as Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers.

Father Walsh was a model priest and a natural leader. He was the first Superior General of the Society, the treasurer, the editor of its publication, rector of the seminary, spiritual director of the Maryknoll Sisters that was formed during 1912, along with master organizer, fundraiser, publicist and overseer of plans and building for the Society. It is difficult to find any aspect of the foundation of Maryknoll that did not benefit from the direction and oversight of Father Walsh.

Father Walsh’s contributions to the Catholic Church in the U.S. and to the growth of mission were celebrated when he was ordained as bishop on June 29, 1933 by Pope Pius XI in Rome. Only a few years later, on April 14, 1936, Bishop Walsh passed away.

Causes for Father Price and Father Capodonno

The cause for beatification and canonization of Bishop Walsh is the third for the Maryknoll Society.

Causes have been established for Maryknoll co-founder Father Thomas F. Price (pending) and for Maryknoll Father Vincent R. Capodanno.

Thomas Price was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, the eighth child of Alfred and Clarissa Bond Price, on August 19, 1860. Having converted to the Catholic faith, his parents raised their children to be devout Catholics in the midst of Southern apathy toward the religion.

During his formative years, Thomas Price was deeply influenced by priests from his Wilmington parish of St. Thomas. With a religious upbringing that included profound understanding of the deep devotion his mother held for the Blessed Virgin Mary, the young Price soon became attracted to the priesthood. Father Price became the first Catholic priest born in North Carolina.

Vincent R. Capodanno was born on February 13, 1929 in Staten Island, New York. During the 1960s, he asked to be reassigned from his Maryknoll mission in Formosa to serve as a U.S. Navy chaplain. He served with a unit of the U.S. Marines in Vietnam and, though mortally wounded during an ambush on September 4, 1967, he continued to administer to others who were injured.

Father Capodanno is the only chaplain to receive the Medal of Honor for service with the Marine Corps. During 2011 in Triangle, Virginia, the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation dedicated the “Sacrifice Window” to Father Capodanno in the Semper Fidelis Memorial Chapel at the National Museum of the Marine Corps.

Watch a video about Bishop Walsh click here.

Watch this same video on Youtube by clicking here.

ABOUT MARYKNOLL

We are a Catholic Society of priests and brothers based in the United States. We are dedicated to missionary work overseas in over 20 countries. Additionally, we animate Catholics in the United States to follow their own baptismal call to share God’s compassion and love with the poor, the sick, and all those in need.

OUR GENERAL COUNCIL

L-R Tom O'Brien, Ray Finch, Joe Everson, Russ Feldmeier

(Fr. Lance P. Nadeau, Fr. James M. Lynch, Fr. Timothy O. Kilkelly, Fr. Juan Montes Zúñiga)

The Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers is overseen by our General Council, led by Superior General Rev. Lance P. Nadeau, M.M.

OUR FOUNDERS

L-R Tom O'Brien, Ray Finch, Joe Everson, Russ Feldmeier

(Our Co-Founders Father Price and Father Walsh)

PLACES WE SERVE

EVANGELIZATION, PARISHES, AND PROJECTS

USA

STORIES OF MISSION

(Africa) Education and Formation of African Clergy

The Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers Africa Region will provide tuition assistance to African clergy, male and female religious at institutes of higher education or specialized training. Read More

Stories of Our Global Mission

The calling of a lifetime

The life of a Maryknoll missioner is challenging, fulfilling, and deeply rewarding. Follow your baptismal call to mission by sharing God’s compassion with the poor, the sick, and people most in need.