Celebrating Maryknoll’s Pastoral Workers

While the year winds down into its final quarter, Jubilee 2025 is still going strong. Upcoming we will celebrate Jubilee of the Missions on October 4th and 5th. On these dates we will celebrate all missioners, lay and religious, and the work they do across the globe to spread the word. For this post, I would like to focus particularly on the Pastoral workers of Maryknoll.

Now, what is Pastoral Work? Here is one definition: a ministry of providing compassionate, holistic support—including emotional, spiritual, and practical guidance—to individuals and communities. If you are acquainted with Maryknoll, this should sound rather familiar. Most of the missions focus on giving guidance, from parishes to individuals, for the poor and sick, for the lost and the enlightened. 

Join me as I highlight three of Maryknoll’s ministries, one for each of it’s expressions.

Let us start across the Atlantic, in particular the Arusha Diocese in the country of Tanzania. The Maryknoll Sisters began mission there in 1970s, serving several villages of the Maasai People. Some of these villages include Babati, Loliondo, Makiungu, Sonjo, and Kijungu.

The Sisters came to the Kijungu mission in 1978, looking to understand the Maasai culture and aid the local community. One member of the team was Sister Sue Rech, MM, experienced in rural education for youth and women. After surveying the mission’s pastoral needs, the most pressing need was the establishment of Christian Leadership. Education is one of the branches of pastoral work, giving the people tools to succeed. It is not limited to traditional methods, and the Sisters were great at finding different ways of educating the people of their communities.

Working with the Diocese, Sisters Noreen McCarthy, MM and Rachel Kunkler, MM founded the Arusha Leadership Center. The goal was to teach local peoples how to be their own leaders. It was part of a grass-roots movement to create Christian communities through already established ones. This work is just a single example of the movement that was prevalent across Maryknoll’s missions. 

On the opposite side of the world, the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers were conducting their own pastoral work. In 1965, Fr. John Cioppa, MM became the latest pastor of St. John’s parish in Kwun Tong, Hong Kong. He quickly went to work constructing plans for a Boys’ School and Pastoral Centre to serve the Greater Kwun Tong community. Fr. Cioppa realized his dream of opening both in 1972, and the Kwun Tong Pastoral Center was born. Unfortunately he was not able to stay for long, called into Regional Leadership in mid-1973. 

Even through Fr. Cioppa had moved on, many Maryknoll Fathers took up leadership of the Centre. Fr. Matthew H. Kelleher, MM, depicted on the left, served for several years as Director in the 1980’s. Fr. Kelleher’s mission focus was religious education, making him a perfect fit for the Centre. At the time, the Centre was well established serving 8 parishes and 21 church sponsored schools. Its services included providing religious materials, conducting a variety of training courses, supporting a Worker’s Formation Program, and encouraging parishioners young and old to engage in community development. 

Back across the pacific, Maryknoll Lay Missioner Joe Loney, MM served as a Legal Aid in Bolivia.  The Maryknoll Lay Missioners served in a variety of pastoral ministries in Latin America, including relief efforts, religious education, parish work, family ministry, and prison ministry. Joe Loney operated a Legal Clinic in Cochabamba, offering his expertise as a former public defender. In particular, he worked with incarcerated persons to avoid recidivism, teaching forgiveness and letting go of negative emotions. Joe continues to work in Bolivia, where he has served faithfully for over 25 years.