Special “Thank You” to our Donors
Dear Past, Present, and Future Donors,
The Maryknoll Mission Archives is profoundly grateful to every single person that has donated, continues to donate, and is planning to donate to our collections. Our Archives relies on the generous support of individuals who, like us, are interested in sharing Maryknoll’s enduring legacy around the world. Your contributions have allowed us to assist thousands of researchers every year and tell a fuller, richer story of Maryknoll’s history.
Since our establishment in 1990, you’ve trusted the Archives staff to protect and preserve precious memories and stories of Maryknoll. If a picture is worth a thousand words, how should we measure the worth of the millions of records in our holdings? We believe they are priceless, and we hope you believe that too. Your faith in us allows people from around the world to benefit from your donations. Your donations have certainly been priceless to them.
This year alone, our collections have not only been used by the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, Maryknoll Sisters, and Maryknoll Lay Missioners, but also a diverse pool of people interested in various aspects of Maryknoll history. This includes:
Alumni newsletters
Archives Illuminated blog
Catholic schools
Cause for Canonization organizations
Genealogists/Family Historians
Heritage Preservation groups
Historians
International artists
International authors
International researchers
Local authors
Publishers
Religious Organizations
Undergraduate and Graduate students
The year is still young, and we are constantly receiving new research requests. Who will our collections help next? We’re eager to find out. However, we never forget that our work would not be possible without your priceless contributions. Thank you for supporting our mission and helping us share Maryknoll’s history with the world.
Sincerely,
Maryknoll Mission Archives
Sr. Ursula Kenkel and a Korean elder,
Old Folks Home,
Gishu, Korea, 1926
Dr. Artemio Bagalawis (left) and Dr. Harry Blaber (right)
Maryknoll’s original Lay Missioners
Sunwui, China, 1934
Fr. Lavery poses with an interned Japanese family,
Manzanar Relocation Camp, California, 1944
Frs. Harrington and Killackey pose in front of Maryknoll’s
39th Street House,
New York City, 1957
Our Mission
Maryknoll Mission Archives centralizes, collects, organizes, preserves, protects, and makes available for research the legacy of Maryknoll’s participation in the worldwide mission of the Church including the:
- Development, history and charism of the three expressions of Maryknoll
- Global mission activities, ministries and religious lives of their memberships
- Engagement of American Catholics through mission education
What We Collect
- Organizational records (leadership, regional, departmental) of permanent value
- Missioners’ personal records donated to the Archives by the missioner or by the missioner’s family members/friends
- Published secondary sources about the Society, Congregation, Lay Missioners and their respective members
- Images depicting missioners, mission work, and religious and organizational activities
- Artifacts (objects) of significance connected to the members, mission work or activities of the Society, Congregation, or Lay Missioners
- Audio and Audiovisual materials created by the Society, Congregation, or Lay Missioners or programs prominently featuring a Maryknoller or Maryknoll employee of significant research value
The Maryknoll Mission Archives is actively collecting and accepting donations. We’re particularly interested in items related to our Lay Missioners. The Maryknoll Lay Missioners were established as an independent organization in 1994, so we have less documentation of Lay Missioners compared to our Fathers, Brothers, and Sisters. We want to ensure their stories are preserved and shared for generations to come.
Archives History
The history of the Archives as told by my coworker, Stephanie:
“The Maryknoll Fathers & Brothers and Maryknoll Sisters kept historical records (archives) since their earliest days. In fact, the records for both pre-date the founding of the Society (1911) and Congregation (1912), following Fr. James Anthony Walsh, Fr. Thomas Price and Mollie Rogers (later Mother Mary Joseph) as their interest in Catholic foreign mission work lead them to their roles in the foundation and development of Maryknoll.
The Society created an archives department in the late 1960s, appointing Father William Coleman as its first official archivist in 1967.
In 1970, after her 12 years as head of the Maryknoll Sisters, Sister Mary Colman Coleman became the Sisters’ first archivist.
Father Coleman and Sister Mary Colman created formalized structures for managing and using the Society’s and Sisters’ archives. Over the next 20 years, numerous Maryknoll Fathers, Brothers and Sisters cared for the records in each archive.
In 1989, the Fathers & Brothers’ and Sisters’ leadership teams decided to consolidate their respective archives. They envisioned a single, collaborative office dedicated to facilitating access to collections and making preservation of the materials more efficient and effective. The result of the collaboration is the Maryknoll Mission Archives, established in 1990.
In 2001 the Maryknoll Lay Missioners (established as an independent organization in 1994) joined the collaboration adding their records to the archives.
For more than 30 years the Maryknoll Mission Archives has served as the official repository for and caretakers of records of historical value produced by the three expressions of Maryknoll.”
Maryknollers lecture their students at the Radio School
Puno, Peru, 1966
Faye Hauer uses a microscope with a local woman
Guatemala, 1979
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:
Archives Illuminated . Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2023, August 23). https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/category/blog/
Bishop James A. Walsh. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2019, July 25). https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/bishop-james-a-walsh/
Father Thomas F. Price. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2019, July 25). https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/father-thomas-f-price/
Father Walter J. Coleman, MM. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2014, April 23). https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/deceased-fathers-bro/father-walter-j-coleman-mm/
Home – archives. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2023, January 5). https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/
Home – maryknoll fathers and brothers. Maryknoll Society. (2023, August 23). https://maryknollsociety.org/
Home – maryknoll lay missioners. Maryknoll Lay Missioners. (2023, August 22). https://mklm.org/
Home – maryknoll sisters. Maryknoll Sisters. (2023, August 9). https://www.maryknollsisters.org/
Maryknoll Magazine homepage. Maryknoll Magazine. (2023, July 3). https://www.maryknollmagazine.org/
Misioneros Maryknoll. (2023, August 16). https://misionerosmaryknoll.org/
Mother Mary Colman Coleman, MM. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2014, April 16). https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/deceased-sisters/mother-mary-colman-coleman-mm/
Mother Mary Joseph Rogers. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2019, July 25). https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/mother-mary-joseph-rogers/
Orbis books. Orbis Books. (2023). https://orbisbooks.com/
Sister Sylvia Elaine Postles. Maryknoll Sisters. (2021, November 1). https://www.maryknollsisters.org/sisters/sister-sylvia-elaine-postles/
University of Southern California. (n.d.). International Mission Photography Archive, ca.1860-ca.1960. University of Southern California Libraries. https://digitallibrary.usc.edu/Archive/International-Mission-Photography-Archive–ca-1860-ca-1960-2A3BF1OL0UB?Flat=1#/SearchResult&VBID=2A3BXZ80M4Y7F&PN=1&WS=SearchResults
Sr. Sylvia Postles assisting mothers as the
Head Nurse of Tabaka Hospital’s maternity unit,
Tabaka Hospital, Kenya, 1980
