Tag Archives: missionaries

Maryknoll Celebrates Centennial

As reported by Catholic World News, the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers celebrated their 100th anniversary at an October 30 Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was the principal celebrant, and Father Jan Michael Joncas–the composer of “On Eagle’s Wings”–composed a special musical Mass setting for the anniversary.

The Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers were founded by the U.S. bishops in 1911 as the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America. The average member is now 74 years old; according to various editions of the United States Catholic Mission Association’s handbook, 158 Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers now serve abroad–down from 279 in 2004.

Despite the many successes of devoted Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers over the past century, the community has been criticized in recent decades for adopting an overly politicized approach to missionary work.

Missionaries Find Faith in Vietnam

The September 9, 2011 edition of the Rhode Island Catholic included this uplifting article about Greenville, RI pastor Fr. Francis Santilli and one of his parishioners, Donald Turbitt, who just returned from a missionary trip to Vietnam.

The mission trip was coordinated by Turbitt, the Vietnam coordinator for Renewal Ministries, Inc., an Indiana-based international nonprofit dedicated to fostering renewal and evangelization in the Catholic Church in 25 countries throughout the world.

Father Santilli and Mr. Turbitt were able to minister to seminarians as well as families during their visit, where they found a real hunger for the faith despite government opposition. They also visited convents belonging to the Lovers of the Holy Cross, a community of religious sisters dedicated to working with the poor, handicapped, and children.

The missionaries were even blessed to attend the final profession of eleven sisters during an early morning Mass in Phat Diem.

“Families are deeply honored if one of their children is in religious life or the priesthood,” Father Santilli noted. He added that the church is the “center of life” for the faithful in Vietnam.