Category: Maryknoll

Happenings in the Maryknoll world, especially in the Cambodia Mission Team.

Another Farewell

Sr. Regina Pellicore is leaving Cambodia tomorrow to return to the United States. Frequently she has attended morning mass with the Missionaries of Charity at their orphanage, and today we took some pictures to remember her last time there.

Next Year in New York

Things were really busy tonight when we were setting up for the Easter Vigil at the DK Meeting Centre in Phnom Penh. I didn’t get a chance to arrange for someone to take photos but after the service was over, we got this photo of Julie Lawler and me and Regina Pellicore getting ready to leave after her last Easter Vigil in Cambodia.

Saying Farewell

Sr. Regina came to DDP this morning to say goodbye to the staff she has worked with over the years.

DDP director Soknym spoke of his working with Regina.
These are the four Maryknollers associated now with DDP: Charlie, Regina, Naa (a former guard at the Maryknoll office, now at DDP), and Julie.

Wednesday Gathering

We stopped our Wednesday gatherings of Maryknoll Cambodia when we closed the NGO, but many of us decided to continue to meet and tonight we had a gathering of nine of us who try to meet every week. Most of us were part of Maryknoll but we have others who are lay missioners on their own or with another group.

Our group meets in the home of our gracious hosts, Maria and Kila.
This was Sr. Regina’s last time to meet with us before she returns to the United States and we also wanted to remember Maria’s birthday so added a cake to the evening.

New York #6

St. Patrick’s Day
Lunch on St. Patrick’s Day was with the sisters at the Sisters Center in Ossining. Sr. Luise celebrated with green ice cream and a green cookie.
Dinner on St. Patrick’s Day was with Maryknoll priests at their house in Manhattan. Here Fr. Frank McGourn, the cook for the meal, explains how the main dishes match the colors of the Irish flag.

New York #5

More New york friends

Sr. Helen Graham is a scripture scholar who specializes in the Torah and our Old Testament scriptures.
Sunday morning I went to mass at the old seminary building and afterwards had a chance to reconnect with Tom Dunleavy (L), John Barth, and Bill McIntire (R).
Then I came to the Maryknoll house in Manhattan and enjoyed being again with Lionel, one of the staff of the house.

New York #4

Here are some more Maryknoll friends I met with the next day.

Sr. Luise Ahrens told me about an exhibit of famous women from Ossining (where Maryknoll is) and we walked over to an arts center that has taken over the Bethany building which used to be a retirement home for the Maryknoll Sisters and then the headquarters for the Maryknoll Lay Missioners.
For lunch that day I met Adel ORegan, a former Maryknoll lay missioner in Cambodia, and we caught up on what has been happening for us.
Then I went to the Maryknoll seminary building and met with Fr. Tom Dunleavy who was assigned to mission in Thailand and then moved with returning refugees to Cambodia and started Maryknoll’s presence there.

New York #3

These last couple days in New York were devoted to catching up with friends. Some of them I had seen in Cambodia just two months ago.

Sr. Mary Little returned to the Sisters Center from Cambodia a month ago. Here she is meeting me at 7:00 AM to guide me through the breakfast line.
Then I went to the Walsh Building used by the Maryknoll Lay Missioners and met with a longtime good friend, Richard Gatjens of the development department. Richard is known for his outrageous ties.
At lunch back at the Sisters Center, I met up with Sr. Ann Sherman (L), recently returned from Cambodia, and Sr. Juana Encalada who also served in Cambodia.
The last of the recent returnees from Cambodia is Sr. Helene O’Sullivan who was also at lunch that day.

New York #2

The room I have at the Maryknoll Sisters Center is a small suite, the Philippines Suite. It is nicer than what I am accustomed to.
What I appreciated is the small table with folding leaves that I can use with the computer.
The L-shaped room has a bed in a little alcove, right by the window. That was helpful because the first night the heat was on and the room was warm and I opened the window.
Unlike the regular small guest rooms I used at the Sisters Center before, this room even had a television, telephone, refrigerator, and a water heater. Luxury!

New York #1

Today was the day I made the transition from Kentucky to New York for the final part of my US journey.

Louisville is a busy airport because it is the hub for UPS and their hundreds of flights per day, but the passenger-side apron was relatively clear when I took off at lunch time.
Here we are starting our final approach into EWR, the Newark, New Jersey airport, and below us was one of the metropolitan area’s stadiums for a professional sports team.
I had to wait 65 minutes for the bus from EWR to Grand Central Station in Manhattan and then it was a slow journey through heavy traffic.
A high point of every trip to New York City is going through Grand Central Station, an iconic train station serving lines going all over the East Coast. It was a 50-minute ride on the train to Ossining and then I had to catch a taxi to the Maryknoll Sisters Center where I am staying. The taxis were few and far between and when one finally came, the young man ahead of me invited me to share his taxi so the taxi dropped him off and then went to Maryknoll.