Maryknoll Retreat and Meetings 2010

Maryknoll History: Day 1
Thursday / 12 January 2012

The Maryknoll Priests and Brothers (the Maryknoll Society) were founded in 1911 and have just concluded a year-long anniversary celebration. The Maryknoll Sisters (the Maryknoll Congregation) were founded in 1912 and are just starting their celebrations. Our gathering was fortunate to fall between these two celebratory periods and so we decided to focus this year on Maryknoll history during our time in Hua Hin, Thailand.

Morning prayer The morning prayers this week, all prepared by Brother John Beeching of Thailand, focused on the three founders of the Maryknoll Society and Congregation. The morning prayers took place in the chapel at the retreat center.

A presentation on Maryknoll history Fr. Bill Galvin from Hong Kong and Sr. Claudette Laverdiere from the US spoke about the history of the early Society and Congregation. Claudette focused on the early relationship between the Society and Congregation as seen through the correspondence between Fr. Walsh, the priests' founder, and Mollie Rogers, Sr. Mary Joseph, who founded the sisters.

Talking about Father Price Bill focused on the history and personalities of the Maryknoll founders. Both Claudette and Bill have done extensive research on Maryknoll history over the years.

Talking about early correspondence The Maryknoll Sisters started out as a group of secretaries or "auxiliaries," women who were interested in foreign mission but had no organization to join. They collaborated ijn the establishment of the priests and brothers group and then were formally recognized as a sisters group. Their relationship with the priests was the subject of much of the correspondence that Claudette presented, as the sisters tried to be equals in mission and not just "helpers" of the priests.

Chong Park reading at mass At the liturgy we celebrated right before lunch, Chong Park, a former lay missioner who now volunteers—with his wife Pooja—in Thailand several months each year, read the first reading.

Welcoming new lay missioners At the end of the mass, there was a ceremony to welcome three missioners taking up new assignments in the Asia South area. Fr. Rodrigo Ulloa is going to Nepal, and here Charlie Dittmeier presents symbolic welcoming gifts to Dee Dungy and Maria Montello (red pants) as Joe Thaler and Lindsay Doucette watch.

Blessing the new missioners Then the whole community offered a blessing for the new missioners to welcome them into the community and encourage and support the ministries that they will develop. Mary Grenough from Burma is in the foreground.

Talk on climate change In the afternoon, when there were no history presentations, there was time for other input. Here Fr. Larry Radice, from China, spoke to a group about climate change. Larry had just returned from the UN conference on climate change in Durban, South Africa.

Eveniing social hour An important part of each year's program is the social hour each evening, partly just because the group is quite large and there are always new people to meet and get to know. The focus of Maryknoll Asia South is collaboration, and that is not possible unless people know each other well enough to work together openly and trustingly.

Sami Scott and friend After dinner, when taking her dishes to the washing area, Sami Scott, a cat lover and owner, encountered this local feline and couldn't resist saying hello.

Watching videos on Maryknoll history In the evening there were several short videos about Maryknoll's history. One of the most interesting was the story of the building of Maryknoll headquarters, erected over a period of 40 years, originally as a seminary but now used as an administration and residential complex.

Go to Hua Hin Trip main page
Go to On the Road main page
Go to Charlie Dittmeier's home page

	The morning prayers this week, all prepared by Brother John Beeching of Thailand, focused on the three founders of the Maryknoll Society and Congregation. The morning prayers took place in the chapel at the retreat center.
	Fr. Bill Galvin from Hong Kong and Sr. Claudette Laverdiere from the US spoke about the history of the early Society and Congregation. Claudette focused on the early relationship between the Society and Congregation as seen through the correspondence between Fr. Walsh, the priests' founder, and Mollie Rogers, Sr. Mary Joseph, who founded the sisters.
	Bill focused on the history and personalities of the Maryknoll founders. Both Claudette and Bill have done extensive research on Maryknoll history over the years.
	The Maryknoll Sisters started out as a group of secretaries or "auxiliaries," women who were interested in foreign mission but had no organization to join. They collaborated ijn the establishment of the priests and brothers group and then were formally recognized as a sisters group. Their relationship with the priests was the subject of much of the correspondence that Claudette presented, as the sisters tried to be equals in mission and not just "helpers" of the priests.
	At the liturgy we celebrated right before lunch, Chong Park, a former lay missioner who now volunteers—with his wife Pooja—in Thailand several months each year, read the first reading.
	At the end of the mass, there was a ceremony to welcome three missioners taking up new assignments in the Asia South area. Fr. Rodrigo Ulloa is going to Nepal, and here Charlie Dittmeier presents symbolic welcoming gifts to Dee Dungy and Maria Montello (red pants) as Joe Thaler and Lindsay Doucette watch.
	Then the whole community offered a blessing for the new missioners to welcome them into the community and encourage and support the ministries that they will develop. Mary Grenough from Burma is in the foreground.
	In the afternoon, when there were no history presentations, there was time for other input. Here Fr. Larry Radice, from China, spoke to a group about climate change. Larry had just returned from the UN conference on climate change in Durban, South Africa.
	An important part of each year's program is the social hour each evening, partly just because the group is quite large and there are always new people to meet and get to know. The focus of Maryknoll Asia South is collaboration, and that is not possible unless people know each other well enough to work together openly and trustingly.
	After dinner, when taking her dishes to the washing area, Sami Scott, a cat lover and owner, encountered this local feline and couldn't resist saying hello.
	In the evening there were several short videos about Maryknoll's history. One of the most interesting was the story of the building of Maryknoll headquarters, erected over a period of 40 years, originally as a seminary but now used as an administration and residential complex.