Cover of Misioneros, Winter 2025. You can download the latest edition of Misioneros from the following link: https://misionerosmaryknoll.org/descargar-la-edicion-actual/

A Brief History of Maryknoll Magazine

Jubilee 2025: Pilgrims of Hope

Welcome to 2025, and the start of the Jubilee Holy Year! This year marks the 2,025th anniversary of the Incarnation of the Lord. Pope Francis has dedicated this Jubilee to “Pilgrims of Hope”, centering themes of reconciliation, pilgrimage, and home-coming. The celebrations began with events related to the “World of Communications” from January 24th through 26th.

As part of these celebrations, we wanted to share the history of Maryknoll Magazine, a vehicle through which Maryknoll missioners have consistently communicated the good news. Maryknoll Fathers & Brothers, Maryknoll Sisters, and Maryknoll Lay Missioners have historically served communities in need across five continents. Their mission stories have been shared internationally by the Maryknoll Magazine for more than 100 years, bringing hope and inspiration to readers just like you.

Cover of Maryknoll Magazine, Winter 2025. You can download the latest edition of Maryknoll Magazine from the following link: https://www.maryknollmagazine.org/download-current-issue/

Fr. James A. Walsh sits at his desk inside the SPF Offices, Boston, MA.

Fr. James A. Walsh sits at his desk inside the SPF Offices, Boston, MA.

You’re the Inspiration

Maryknoll Magazine (originally known as The Field Afar) was founded by Fr. James A. Walsh during his time in Boston as the Archdiocese’s Director of the Society of the Propagation of the Faith (SPF). Following his appointment to the SPF in 1903, he became increasingly aware of how little American Catholics knew about mission and missionary activities around the world. He set himself two goals; to improve U.S. Catholics’ awareness of the foreign missionary activities of the Catholic Church, and to highlight the increasing need for a U.S. Foreign Mission Seminary.

Fr. Walsh started with his goal to share the good news. At the time, there were only two mission periodicals available in the U.S. that offered international coverage. Originally published in France, they were not designed with American readers in mind. Their French to English translations were imperfect, had few photographs, and weren’t easily accessible to the general public. Fr. Walsh wanted to create his own magazine to supplement existing publications and capture the attention of U.S. Catholics (Wiest).

With permission from Archbishop John J. Williams, Fr. Walsh co-founded the Catholic Foreign Mission Bureau of Boston to address the issue directly. The association was intended to organize “a literary propaganda with a view to deepen and widen the missionary spirit in the United States, having for its ultimate end the establishment of a Foreign Mission Seminary” (Weist, 23). The Bureau’s co-founders (and future friends of Maryknoll) included Fr. James F. Stanton, Fr. John I. Lane, and Fr. Joseph Bruneau, S.S. While the Bureau published multiple pamphlets, newspaper articles, and periodicals throughout its existence, the magazine was always intended to be its shining star.

The SPF Office in Boston, located on 62 Union Park Street.

The SPF Office in Boston was located on 62 Union Park Street. The first edition of The Field Afar was edited and published here.

Cover of The Field Afar from January 1, 1907.

Cover of The Field Afar from January 1, 1907.

Beginnings

Originally known as The Field Afar, the magazine’s first issue was published on January 1, 1907. The magazine began as a bi-monthly publication bringing stories and photographs from English-speaking missioners into the homes and hearts of Boston Archdiocese. It quickly became popular among local Catholics, reaching almost 5,000 yearly subscriptions. In an essay published in Bishop James Anthony Walsh: A Tribute by Maryknollers, Bp. Francis X. Ford attributed this success to Fr. Walsh’s style and vision.

“In this quiet, scholarly way, he launched The Field Afar as an organ of information. With his quick eye for news toned to the American sense of humor, he presented the mission cause… He spoke and wrote English without oratory or pretense, using terse, pointed understatement in a conversational style that put the whole argument without preaching… Father Walsh was possibly the first to present the missions in language akin to the American taste. He was readable and read, and his mission items, increasingly appreciated by the Catholic press, were perhaps the first mission facts that were considered news, apart from their religious origin (Ford, 9).”

Fr. Walsh continued to gather support from leadership in the American hierarchy for his seminary idea. In 1910, he met Fr. Thomas Price of North Carolina at a Eucharistic Congress in Montreal, and they discussed their mutual passion for creating a foreign missionary seminary. With support from the Archbishops of Boston and Baltimore and Apostolic Delegate to the U.S., they traveled to Rome where they received the permission and blessing of Pope Pius X to begin their seminary. The Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America (commonly known as the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers) began in 1911.

Biography of Bishop James A. Walsh
Maryknoll Mission Archives
https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/bishop-james-a-walsh/

Fr. James A. Walsh (center) and Fr. Thomas Price (right) at the Eucharistic Congress in Montreal, Québec, 1910.

Fr. James A. Walsh (center) and Fr. Thomas F. Price (right) at the Eucharistic Congress in Montreal, Québec, 1910.

First seven secretaries

Photograph of seven Secretaries, all of whom worked on The Field Afar. Mollie Rogers, the future Foundress of the Maryknoll Sisters, sits in the front row (second from the right).

Feeling Stronger Every Day

By the Society’s founding in 1911, the magazine had expanded exponentially and required the addition of several secretaries to manage daily operations. Three brave women from this group, better known as the “Secretaries”, agreed to relocate from Boston to upstate New York to support the newly formed Society and continue their critical work on The Field Afar. They arrived in Hawthorne, NY on January 6, 1912. Mollie Rogers, another secretary, joined them soon after settling her own affairs in Boston. Most of these women went on to become Maryknoll Sisters, and are better known today as Sr. Mary Louise Wholean, Sr. Mary Theophane Shea, and Mother Mary Joseph Rogers.

The magazine continued to grow and change over time. With significant support from the Secretaries, the magazine became a monthly publication in 1913. Five years later, “Maryknoll” was added to the name to reflect its status as Maryknoll’s official magazine. Fr. Walsh watched his vision come to fruition as stories of mission from three continents were mailed to homes throughout the United States.

He remained actively involved with the magazine, even after becoming Superior General of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers in 1918. Fr. Walsh continued writing articles and editing the magazine until his death on April 14, 1936. Maryknoll Magazine has remained as an enduring piece of his legacy.

Long after his death, Maryknoll Fathers, Brothers, Sisters, and Lay Missioners have continued to share their stories of hope in the face of adversity through Maryknoll: The Field Afar. Its current name, Maryknoll Magazine, was established in 1961 for the 50th anniversary of the publication.

Fr. James A. Walsh (right) working at a desk in the Field Afar offices at Maryknoll, 1924.

Fr. James A. Walsh (right) working at a desk in The Field Afar offices at Maryknoll, 1924.

Cover of Revista Maryknoll, September 1980

Cover of Revista Maryknoll, September 1980.

Anyway You Want

Maryknoll Magazine continued to develop beyond Bp. James A. Walsh’s goals and aspirations for its future. While the magazine was originally created to bring mission news to English speakers, it had become inaccessible to the growing population of Americans who only spoke Spanish. Maryknoll needed a Spanish-language magazine.

The first issue was published in September 1980 to better serve the Hispanic population within the United States. The magazine’s original name was “Revista Maryknoll” but was changed to “Misioneros” in 2017 to reflect “the efforts, contributions and the spirituality of all the men and women—priests, brothers, sisters and lay people—followers of Jesus Christ who are part of the greater Maryknoll movement and the mission of the Church”. As of 2025, Misioneros will be celebrating 45 years of continuous publication.

Today, Maryknoll Magazine and Misioneros are quarterly publications available to readers in print and digital formats. The Maryknoll Mission Archives is proud to house complete collections of both magazines, which we continue to make available for research. More recent editions of the magazines are available online at the links listed below. We hope you’ll take a moment to read our Maryknoll missioners’ stories of hope and faith as we move into the Jubilee Year.

Maryknoll Magazine – New Edition
https://www.maryknollmagazine.org/download-current-issue/

Maryknoll Magazine – Past Editions (2016-2024)
https://www.maryknollmagazine.org/past-issues/

Misioneros – Nueva Edición
https://misionerosmaryknoll.org/descargar-la-edicion-actual/

Misioneros – Ediciones Pasadas (2016-2024)
https://misionerosmaryknoll.org/archivos/

Cover of Revista Maryknoll, March/April 2016

Cover of Revista Maryknoll, March/April 2016

Cover from Maryknoll Magazine's 50th anniversary, published in 1961.

Cover from Maryknoll Magazine’s 50th anniversary, published in 1961.

Our Lady of Maryknoll, 100th Anniversary Icon, designed by William Hart McNichols.

Our Lady of Maryknoll, 100th Anniversary Icon, designed by William Hart McNichols. She was featured on the cover of Maryknoll Magazine in 2011.

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:

About maryknoll. Maryknoll Magazine. (2024). https://www.maryknollmagazine.org/about-maryknoll/

Bishop Francis X. Ford, MM. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2014, April 21). https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/deceased-fathers-bro/bishop-francis-x-ford-mm/

Bishop James A. Walsh. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2019, July 25).  https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/bishop-james-a-walsh/

Bruneau, father joseph. The Sulpicians, Province of the United States. (n.d.). http://sulpicians.org/project/bruneau-father-joseph/

Father John I. Lane, MM. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2014, April 22). https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/deceased-fathers-bro/father-john-i-lane-mm/

Father Thomas F. Price. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2019, July 25). https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/father-thomas-f-price/

Ford, Bp. F. X. (1953). The Mission Vision. In Bishop James Anthony Walsh: A Tribute by Maryknollers (pp. 7–10). essay.

Homepage – Edición actual. Misioneros Maryknoll. (2024, December 9). https://misionerosmaryknoll.org/

Jubilee 2025 – Pilgrims of Hope. USCCB. (2025). https://www.usccb.org/jubilee2025

Maryknoll Fathers & Brothers. (n.d.). Mission diaries, 1912-1969. Maryknoll Mission Archives. https://maryknollmissionarchives.libraryhost.com/index.php?p=collections%2Fcontrolcard&id=1&q=diaries

Maryknoll Sisters. (n.d.). Mission diaries, 1912-1968. Maryknoll Mission Archives. https://maryknollmissionarchives.libraryhost.com/index.php?p=collections%2Ffindingaid&id=4&q=diaries&rootcontentid=234527#id234527

Mother Mary Joseph Rogers. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2019, July 25). https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/mother-mary-joseph-rogers/

Rev. James F. Stanton. Stoughton history. (n.d.). https://stoughtonhistory.com/1918-revstanton.htm

Silvestro, J. D. (2018, March 26). A new start. Maryknoll Mission Archives. https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/a-new-start/

Sister Mary Louise Wholean, MM. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2014, April 28). https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/?deceased-sisters=sister-mary-louise-wholean-mm

Sister Mary Theophane Shea, MM. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2014, May 13). https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/?deceased-sisters=sister-mary-theophane-shea-mm

Wiest, J.-P. (1988). Maryknoll in China: A history, 1918-1955. Orbis Books.

Wikimedia Foundation. (2024, December 10). John Joseph Williams. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Joseph_Williams