As part of the Jubilee of the World of Education, happening October 31st through November 2nd, 2025, Archives is highlighting a selection of international schools established by the Maryknoll Sisters. The Maryknoll Sisters have successfully founded, administered, and taught in hundreds of schools since their formation in 1912. Sisters today continue this tradition of educational excellence in mission and through the Maryknoll Sisters Institute for One Earth Community. While Sisters no longer serve at the following three schools, their legacy here persists.
Colegio Monte Maria, 1954
Colegio Monte Maria, Guatemala City, Guatemala
Maryknoll Sisters arrived in Guatemala City in January 1953 and immediately got to work serving the needs of their new community. Colegio Monte Maria opened on February 2, 1953 as a Kindergarten and Preparatory School. There were only 31 students during their first year, but word about the new school spread quickly. At the start of the school year in January 1954, there were 325 students enrolled from Kindergarten through Fifth Grade.
For the 1955 school year, Monte Maria expanded to include Sixth Grade and a pre-Kindergarten class. Part of the Sisters’ residence was remodeled to add more space, but they quickly realized the school would need its own building sooner rather than later. Students and families strongly supported fundraising efforts. Because of their hard work, the Sisters were able to purchase 45 acres of land for new facilities in August 1955.
Construction of the new school began in 1956. During this year, enrollment increased to include Seventh Grade and an official Secondary section. Avid fundraising continued to support the Sisters efforts. By 1958, most of the study body was moved to Monte Maria’s new campus which included some student housing. Eighth and Nineth Grades were added to the Secondary section prior to the school’s big move.
While Colegio Monte Maria has remained on this site, its administration has made changes throughout the years. In 1961, the Maryknoll Sisters sold the school’s property and facilities to the Association Monte Maria. The Association was created to protect and preserve Monte Maria and its enduring legacy. This also aligned with the Sisters’ plans, whose mission goals consistently empower local communities to take ownership of their work. Sisters continued teaching here until August 2002, when they returned to the United States.
Colegio Monte Maria, Guatemala City
Maryknoll College, Quezon City, Philippines
The original idea for Maryknoll College didn’t come from the Maryknoll Sisters. During the 1920’s, Archbishop Michael O’Doherty of Manila expressed his desire to open a Catholic teacher’s school in his diocese. He personally met with Maryknoll Sisters to request they administer the school, and Mother Mary Joseph agreed to the proposal. Sr. Lumena McMahon was chosen as the Malabon Normal School’s first director, and classes began on June 7, 1926.
As the Normal School’s reputation grew, it also encountered significant challenges. In 1929, an international economic depression impacted the school’s funding. By June 1934, the situation had deteriorated to where Abp. O’Doherty would have to close the school next year if a solution could not be found. Sisters continued to run the Normal School successfully despite financial hardships and, with the Archbishop’s approval, eventually assumed total responsibility for the school.
Maryknoll Normal College, 1936
Architect’s plan for the new Grade School and High School on Maryknoll College campus.
Part of the Sisters’ agreement with Abp. O’Doherty included relocating to Manila. During the Spring of 1936, the school was expanded and transformed into Maryknoll Normal College. The larger site in Manila allowed the Sisters to include an elementary school and a secondary school. That same year, the government gave the school permission to grant college degrees and the name changed to Maryknoll College.
The college has undergone significant changes since then. In 1938, Maryknoll College moved to accommodate its growing student body. The college was subsequently shut down, then destroyed in the bombings of Manila during WWII. The school officially relocated to Katipunan Road in 1947, where it remains to this day. Sisters left Maryknoll College in the capable hands of local Filipino educators and administrators during 1977. In 1988, the school was renamed Miriam College. This name was chosen to honor its patron, Mary, Our Blessed Mother, and as a tribute to Sr. Miriam Thomas Thornton, who served at the college for 50 years. Miriam College will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year.
Sr. Mary McGovern at Shinyanga Commercial School
Shinyanga Commercial Institute (SHYCOM), Shinyanga, Tanzania
This school began as a single classroom in Buhangija, just outside the town of Shinyanga, in the late 1950’s. Originally called St. Mary’s Typing School, Sr. Joan Michel Kirsch and Sr. Mary McGovern taught evening typing classes to boys who had finished Primary school but were unable to enroll in Secondary School. The classroom could only hold a maximum of 20 students. Fr. Alan Smidlein supplied the school’s original set of typewriters. Without his support, St. Mary’s Typing School would not have been possible.
Thanks are also due to Bp. Edward McGurkin who discovered that Misereor, the German Catholic Bishops’ Organization for Development Cooperation, was interested in funding a commercial school in Tanzania. His intervention led to collaboration with Misereor that financially supported St. Mary’s expansion into a two-year, post-secondary technical school.
St. Mary’s Typing School closed in 1965 and reopened at their new location in March 1965 as the Shinyanga Commerical School (SHYCOM). The curriculum expanded significantly to include secretarial and administrative courses. The school became a co-educational boarding school; highly unusual for Tanzania at a time when boarding schools were traditionally single gender. The school also had day students, who were often sponsored by local organizations seeking to improve their employees’ skills.
Things changed in 1970 when President Julius Nyerere signed new Education Regulations. These new rules gave control of grant-aid schools to the government and bared non-Tanzanians from teaching without special approval. The Sisters left SHYCOM in the capable hands of new local leadership that same year. Since then, the school has continued to grow and evolve. It’s currently Shinyanga Teachers’ College, specializing in educating the next generation of Tanzania’s teachers.
Sr. Rae Ann O’Neill and Sr. Vera Krass at Shinyanga Commerical School
Sr. Maria Kim Brech teaching a class at Colegio Monte Maria
Sr. Miriam Thorton at Maryknoll College, 1948
Sr. Mary McGovern teaching at Shinyanga Commerical School
Interested in learning more about Maryknoll?
You can contact the Archives at:
Maryknoll Mission Archives
PO Box 305, Maryknoll, New York 10545
Phone: 914-941-7636
Office hours: 8:30 am-4:00 pm Monday-Friday
Email: archives@maryknoll.org
Website: www.maryknollmissionarchives.org
References:
Africa region history, 1945-2018. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2013). https://maryknollmissionarchives.libraryhost.com/index.php?p=collections%2Fcontrolcard&id=32&q=tanzania
Bishop Edward A. McGurkin, MM. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2014, April 17). https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/deceased-fathers-bro/bishop-edward-a-mcgurkin-mm/
Educación integral Y valores cristianos. Colegio Monte María. (2025, October 1). https://colegiomontemaria.edu.gt/
Education (miscellaneous) regulations, 1970. TanzLII. (2002, July 31). https://tanzlii.org/akn/tz/act/gn/1970/66/eng@2002-07-31
Father Alan A. Smidlein, MM. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2014, April 21). https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/deceased-fathers-bro/father-alan-a-smidlein-mm/
Home. Maryknoll Sisters. (2025, May 23). https://www.maryknollsisters.org/
Home. Misereor. (2025). https://www.misereor.org/
Homepage. Miriam College. (2025, September 1). https://mc.edu.ph/
Jubilee 2025 – Pilgrims of Hope. USCCB. (2025). https://www.usccb.org/jubilee2025
Jubilee of education USCCB resource packet (English). USCCB. (2025). https://www.usccb.org/resources/jubilee-education-usccb-resource-packet-english
Maryknoll Sisters Institute for One Earth Community. Maryknoll Sisters. (2025, September 15). https://www.maryknollsisters.org/one-earth-community-institute
Mission diaries, 1912-1968. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2014). https://maryknollmissionarchives.libraryhost.com/index.php?p=collections%2Fcontrolcard&id=4&q=diaries
Mother Mary Joseph Rogers. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2019, July 25). https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/mother-mary-joseph-rogers/
Philippines region history, 1924-2017. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2013). https://maryknollmissionarchives.libraryhost.com/index.php?p=collections%2Fcontrolcard&id=19&q=philippines
Shinyanga Teachers’ College. Wikimapia. (2014). https://wikimapia.org/23624992/SHINYANGA-TEACHERS-COLLEGE
Sister Joan Michel Kirsch, MM. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2014, August 12). https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/deceased-sisters/sister-joan-michel-kirsch-mm/
Sister Lumena McMahon, MM. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2014, April 30). https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/deceased-sisters/sister-lumena-mcmahon-mm/
Sister Maria Kim Brech, MM. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2014, April 16). https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/deceased-sisters/sister-maria-kim-brech-mm/
Sister Mary McGovern, MM. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2014, April 24). https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/deceased-sisters/sister-mary-mcgovern-mm/
Sister Miriam Thomas Thornton, MM. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2021, January 28). https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/deceased-sisters/sister-miriam-thomas-thornton-mm/
Sister Rae Ann O’Neill, MM. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2014, April 24). https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/deceased-sisters/sister-rae-ann-oneill-mm/
Sister Vera Krass, MM. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2015, October 16). https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/deceased-sisters/sister-vera-krass-mm/
Wikimedia Foundation. (2025, May 8). Michael J. O’Doherty. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_J._O%27Doherty#:~:text=O’Doherty%20was%20Archbishop%20of,and%20the%20Second%20World%20War.&text=(I%20will%20delight%20in%20the%20Lord.)
Wikimedia Foundation. (2025, August 22). Miriam college. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miriam_College
Wikimedia Foundation. (2025, September 21). Julius Nyerere. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Nyerere
