I was working on a reference request, when I saw something that I had to share. Flipping through the September 1965 Issue of the Maryknoll Magazine, an image suddenly caught my eye. An Astronaut, geared in his flight suit aboard vessel on the water. The article identifies him as Major James Alton McDivitt, a Korean War Veteran, Astronaut, and supporter of Maryknoll.
It is initially surprising when I discover a famous individual associated with Maryknoll, but this is not my first discovery. Previously, I featured a set of photos of Robert F. Kennedy visiting the Bishop Ford Center in Hong Kong. Much like then, I was spurred to dig deeper into the matter. Join me as I look into Major McDivitt’s connection to Catholic Mission and the Maryknoll Magazine at the time.
McDivitt and Mission
James Alton McDivitt Jr. was born in 1929, coming of age in time for the Korean War. Determined not to be drafted, he enlisted in the Air Force and applied to become a pilot, quickly proving his skills. He flew 145 combat missions during the war and became a test pilot afterwards, gaining valuable experience. When NASA called for pilots to join the Space Program in 1962, Major McDivitt was one of the few applicants accepted.
The photo to the left was taken while Major McDivitt was training for Gemini 4, his first space flight. The article featuring McDivitt was published after his 4 day flight, making 62 revolutions around the world and getting a bird’s eye view of all Maryknoll Missions. He would later command Apollo 9 and serve as program manager for numerous Apollo missions afterwards, retiring from NASA in 1972.
So where is the the connection to Catholic Mission? Other than being a supporter of Maryknoll, McDivitt also was a member of the Knights of Columbus. It was in this capacity he attended the Third World Congress for the Lay Apostolate in 1967. This congress was a gathering of Catholic laymen to discuss and implement the teachings of the Second Vatican Council. In particular, they discussed the role of lay people in the Church and in Mission.
Now that we laid out Major McDivitt’s connection to Catholic Mission, let’s turn our focus to the Magazine and why he may have been featured in the September 1965 issue.
Change in the Magazine
Maryknoll Magazine started as The Field Afar, founded by Maryknoll Founder Fr. James A. Walsh, MM. You can check out that history here, but for now I want to focus on a wave of change under the editorship of Fr. Albert Nevins, MM. Fr. Nevins worked for Maryknoll’s Cultivation Department since his ordination in 1942, including work on the The Field Afar. He assumed the role of Editor on April 20th, 1953 and one of his more important acts was changing the name in 1957.
Fr. Nevins viewed the aim of Cultivation as making “Maryknoll” a household name, thus the shift. The idea was to better connect with the reader, and thusly keep “Maryknoll’ in their mind. Something like an article about a famous Astronaut supporting Maryknoll could catch a readers eye, just as it caught mine. It is not mistake that McDivitt is featured at the the center of the issue, right after an appeal to support Maryknoll’s missions. It is a smart strategy, proven by the fact I noticed the article and decided to write this blog post.
