Education Collections Guide

Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers

In the past, a candidate for the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers could begin his Maryknoll education process anywhere from Grade 9 to after college graduation. If the candidate felt a vocation to join Maryknoll while in high school, he could attend a Junior Seminary, which included high school and junior college courses. At a Junior Seminary, student candidates took standard classes like English and math, but also took classes to prepare them for ecclesiastical study, like Latin and sacred music. Maryknoll ran Junior Seminaries in Brookline, MA (high school), Chesterfield, MO (high school), Clark’s Summit, PA (high school and junior college), Mountain View, CA (high school and junior college), and Lakewood, NJ (junior college).

After time at a Junior Seminary, a candidate either continued on to Glen Ellyn College or another Catholic college to complete his undergraduate education. Glen Ellyn College was Maryknoll’s four-year college in Glen Ellyn, IL, which operated from 1949 to 1971. Classes at Glen Ellyn covered topics typical to university education such as English, mathematics, and the sciences, and specialized topics such as theology, sacred music, philosophy, and Latin. Until 1966, only candidates for the priesthood were required to complete an undergraduate degree, so most of the students at Glen Ellyn were candidates for the priesthood.

After gaining their high school and/or college degrees, candidates attended the Novitiate. Novitiates were designed to provide a period of time for candidates to prepare more specifically for their future roles in Maryknoll. It was also a place for priests from other orders or dioceses who desired to join Maryknoll to learn Maryknoll customs and practices before taking their oath to the Society. From 1911 to 1933, the Priesthood Novitiate was located in Maryknoll, NY; from 1933 to 1964, in Bedford, MA; from 1964 to 1981, in Hingham, MA; from 1981 to 1986, in Cambridge, MA; and since, 1986, in Chicago, IL. From 1911 to 1947, the Brotherhood Novitiate was located in Maryknoll, NY; from 1947 to 1951, in Akron, OH; from 1951 to 1967, in Brookline, MA; and from 1967 to 1968, in Chesterfield, MA. In 1968, rather than being physically separate, the Priesthood and Brotherhood Novitiates merged in Hingham, MA. From then on, all candidates worked and learned in the same space, though with different vocations.

After the Novitiate, priesthood candidates continued on to the Major Seminary, while Brother candidates continued on to further study, apprenticeship, or mission assignment. The Maryknoll Major Seminary in New York was founded in 1917 and covered subjects common to seminaries around the country. These included subjects like philosophy, sacred scripture, dogma, history, physical science, and more. After WWII, new subjects like Spanish, psychology, and economics were introduced. In the early 1960s, the Seminary added classes like sociology, religious education, and linguistics. After Vatican II, the curriculum was divided between three possible tracks – the basic Bachelor of Divinity awarded to every student, and the options of Master of Sacred Theology or Master of Religious Education. These options allowed seminarians to focus on their preferred path of ministry and practical skills to prepare them for mission work.

By the early 1970s, the educational mission of Maryknoll had changed from preparing ordained men for the missions to preparing religious and non-religious women and men for a wide variety of Christian ministries. In 1979, the mission and purpose of the Major Seminary was redefined, and the institution was re-established as the Maryknoll School of Theology. MST offered theological education and ministry preparation programming to Maryknollers and non-Maryknollers alike, and was open to all applicants. In 1989, Maryknoll’s seminary program moved to Catholic Theological Union.

Maryknoll Sisters

The Maryknoll Sisters’ education program had two components – formation and formal education. Formation meant the training of young women to be Maryknoll Sisters by teaching them about Maryknoll history, customs, mission practices, and values. Formal education meant providing the Sisters with undergraduate and graduate degrees at Rogers College (the Sisters’ college) or another university.

Formation of Sister candidates happened in the Novitiates, which were at different times located at the Motherhouse in Maryknoll, NY, Topsfield, MA, and Valley Park, MO. The original Novitiate was at the Motherhouse, which operated from 1912 until 1969. The Novitiate in Topsfield, MA, called Ladycrest, was opened in 1953 and closed in 1968. The Novitiate in Valley Park, MO was opened in 1947 and closed in 1972. Until 1969, formation of candidates for the Maryknoll Sisters was done in three stages – postulancy, novitiate, and juniorate.

Postulancy tested a candidate’s fitness for life as a Maryknoll Sister. She was introduced to the Maryknoll way of life through theological education, learning Maryknoll history and customs, living in a group setting, and more. A Postulant determined if she actually felt a call to life as a Maryknoll Sister and could fulfill a Sister’s duties. The postulancy period lasted nine months.

At the end of the postulancy period, the candidate became a Novice after a Reception Ceremony. Novices continued with a similar program of formation to the Postulants, with intensified study of the vows, constitutions, and norms of the Sisters, study of Catholic doctrine and scripture, regular prayer and scheduled devotions, and household work at the Novitiate. She would also attend classes at Rogers College to obtain an undergraduate degree if she did not already have one, or to take courses on the mission areas which Maryknoll served. At the end of the novitiate period, a candidate made her First Vows to Maryknoll. At different times in the Sisters’ history, the novitiate period lasted between one and two years.

After the novitiate period, the candidate entered the juniorate period, which was focused on further educating her for her future mission. During this time, the Junior Professed took a mix of classes ranging from apostolic methods to biology to psychology to spirituality. They also worked in assignments around the Novitiate. At the end of the juniorate period, a candidate made additional vows and received her mission assignment. At different times in the Sisters’ history, the juniorate period lasted between one and three years.

In 1969, a new six-step formation program was approved and the Novitiate system of formation was closed. The Admissions Division and the Formal Education Division (which had been part of the Sisters’ Education Department) became the new Admissions and Orientation Department. This new department took over the formation and direction of new and prospective Sisters, and continues to run the Sisters’ formation program today.

Many Maryknoll Sisters completed their formal education at Rogers College. The College was founded in 1931 as the three-year Maryknoll Teacher Training School, to train the Sisters as teachers for the foreign missions. Between 1926 and 1932, the Sisters received teacher training in Washington D.C. at Catholic University of America. In 1942, the Teacher Training School was renamed Maryknoll Teachers College and through a change to the college charter was empowered to grant Bachelor’s Degrees in Elementary and Adult Education. In 1963, the college became Mary Rogers College, and with the new name gained degrees (a BS in Education and an AA in Arts) and could now enroll students from other women’s religious communities. Finally, it became Rogers College in 1969, when the college charter was amended a final time to offer a BA in Community Service and to enroll anyone who wanted to attend. Although founded as a teacher training school, Rogers College grew to prepare students not only to teach but to live and work overseas in community service. The Sisters decided to close Rogers College in 1971, due to the small number of Maryknoll Sisters enrolled, the limited course offerings, and its financial burden. It officially closed in 1973.

Junior Seminary: a high school and/or junior college sponsored by a religious community for the community’s candidates

Maryknoll Fathers & Brothers: the informal name of the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America aka the Maryknoll Society

Maryknoll Lay Missioners: the informal name of the Maryknoll Mission Association of the Faithful

Maryknoll Sisters: the informal name of the Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic, formerly the Foreign Mission Sisters of St. Dominic

Maryknoller: descriptor for a member of the Maryknoll Society, Maryknoll Sisters, or Maryknoll Lay Missioners

Missioner: the Maryknoll-preferred term for missionary

Novice: a person admitted to probationary membership in a religious community

Novitiate: school where religious novices are trained before permanently joining the religious community

Seminary: school where candidates for the priesthood are trained to become ordained

Vocation: call from God to a certain job or position, ie. to become a priest, Brother, Sister, or Lay Missioner

Maryknoll Fathers & Brothers Collections

MFBA Education Department Records

MFBA Formation/Education House Publications Collection

MFBA Glen Ellyn College Collection

MFBA Junior Seminaries Collection

MFBA Major Seminary Collection

MFBA Mission Diaries Collection, Series 16 Subseries 1 and 3-11

MFBA Newsletters Collection, Series 7

MFBA Novitiate Houses Collection

Maryknoll Sisters Collections

MSA Chronicles Collection, Series 6 Subseries 1 and 3

MSA Mission Diaries Collection, Series 5 Subseries 4 and 6-8 

MSA Newsletters Collection, Series 8 Subseries 3 and 7

MSA Novitiates Collection

MSA Rogers College Records