Golden Jubilee
The Maryknoll Mission Archives continues to wish the Maryknoll Lay Missioners a joyous Golden Jubilee! A 50th anniversary marks a special time in an organization’s life, and leads us to reflect on its rich history. Archives is home to the Maryknoll Lay Missioners’ historic collections, and we enjoy showcasing former lay missioners and their unique missions in our blog.
This month, we’re celebrating Maryknoll Lay Missioners’ long and vibrant history of service in medical missions. (April 5th and 6th is also the Jubilee of the Sick and Health Care Workers.) It all began in the 1930s, when two doctors answered Maryknoll’s call to serve in China.
Portrait of Dr. Harry Blaber, taken in China.
Dr. Harry Blaber performing surgery, c. 1930s
Dr. Harry Patrick Blaber
March 4, 1904 – January 20, 1961
Maryknoll’s Pioneer Lay Missioner
Harry P. Blaber was born in Brooklyn, NY on March 4, 1904 to Harry and Helen (Hagan) Blaber. He graduated from St. Francis College in Brooklyn and the Long Island College of Medicine. He completed his internship at Brooklyn Hospital and continued working here as a physician until 1930, when he offered five years service to the Maryknoll missions.
Dr. Blaber was immediately sent to Kongmoon, China to open the Tung On dispensary. It began in a small house, partitioned into consultation room, clinic, surgery, pharmacy, laboratory and six-bed ward. He soon became known by locals as “the doctor of a thousand cures”, and served over 50 patients daily.
When Maryknoll built Sacred Heart Hospital in Toi Shaan, his ability to innovate played a critical role. “He began to organize the hospital with a sufficiency of nothing, save trust in Providence and confidence in Blaber,” Bishop James E. Walsh reported in The Field Afar. His dedication to destitute patients also enabled the expansion of Gate of Heaven Leper Colony.
In 1935, Dr. Blaber returned to Brooklyn Hospital. That same year, he married Constance White, a nurse and co-worker at the hospital. They spent their honeymoon studying leprosy treatment at Molokai, Hawaii, and returned to Kongmoon together in 1936. They were here for roughly two years before the outbreak of WWII forced them to return to the U.S.
After the family’s return from China, Dr. Blaber continued to practice medicine in the U.S. He saved lives as the attending surgeon at the Hospital of the Holy Family, Victory Memorial Hospital, and Bay Ridge Hospital. He passed away on January 20, 1961 from hypertensive heart disease.
Dr. Blaber with a patient in Sunwui, China, 1934
Dr. Artemio I. Bagalawis
March 8, 1905 – March 29, 1999
Maryknoll’s First Long Term Lay Missioner
Artemio Bagalawis was born in Kawite, Philippines, on March 8, 1905. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the University of the Philippines in 1928. There, he came into contact with Fr. James Drought, M.M. who introduced him to Maryknoll. Artemio received his medical degree from the University of St. Thomas in 1933. During this time he became aware of the work of Dr. Harry Blaber in China.
In 1934, Dr. Bagalawis arrived in Toishan, South China and began work with Dr. Blaber at Sacred Heart Hospital and with Maryknoll Fathers at the leprosarium in Ngaimoon. By the end of 1937, Dr. Bagalawis was working fulltime at the leprosarium. He would continue to do so until war forced it to close in the 1940s. In 1939, Dr. Bagalawis and his fiancée Flora Dudley were married in Kongmoon by Fr. Toomey, M.M.
During the war, the couple lived in Canton. Dr. Bagalawis became a field medical officer for the United Nations’ Rehabilitation Program. He returned to Toishan and Sacred Heart Hospital in the late 1940s while Flora went back to the Philippines.
During the Communist takeover of Toishan, beginning in mid-1949, Dr. Bagalawis was imprisoned, then placed under house arrest for 18 months. In March 1951, he was allowed to leave Toishan, eventually returning to the Philippines where he reconnected with Flora and his family.
In 1955, Fr. Joseph Sweeney, M.M. invited the couple to South Korea to serve people suffering from Hansen’s disease. They accepted and spent the next ten years there. In 1965, the Bagalawis ended their mission commitment with Maryknoll.
Dr. Bagalawis is the first long term Maryknoll Lay Missioner to serve in an overseas context. His commitment spanned thirty years. He and his wife were the first Lay Missioners to be married overseas. Along with the Blabers, they provide witness to couples in mission.
Dr. Artemio Bagalawis (left) and Dr. Harry Blaber (right)
Maryknoll’s original Lay Missioners, Sunwui, China, 1934
Dr. Artemio Bagalawis stands with patients outside the medical dispensary in Sunwui, China
Other Stories from the Maryknoll Mission Archives featuring Medical Missioners
The story doesn’t end with Dr. Blaber and Dr. Bagalawis; they were only the beginning. Since they received the call to mission, numerous Lay Missioners have followed in their footsteps and answered their own calls to serve vulnerable populations. You can read more about former and current Lay Missioners below.
Medical missions
Featuring: Dee Barlow, Judith Walter, Kim Nagy, Kathleen Dunford, and Kylene Fremling
Voices of lay missioners
Featuring: Marj Humphrey
Compassionate voices
Featuring: Liz Mach and Susan Nagele
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:
Cairns, M. (2024, April 3). The origins of Maryknoll’s medical missions: Dr. Paluel J. Flagg. Maryknoll Mission Archives. https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/the-origins-of-maryknolls-medical-missions-dr-paluel-j-flagg/
Dr. Harry P. Blaber. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (n.d.). https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/dr-harry-p-blaber/
Father James M. Drought, MM. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2014, April 21). https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/deceased-fathers-bro/father-james-m-drought-mm/
Father Joseph A. Sweeney, MM. Maryknoll Mission Archives. (2014, April 21). https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/deceased-fathers-bro/father-joseph-a-sweeney-mm/
Halloran, J. (2020, May 12). Maryknoll Medical Bureau: Maryknoll mission archives. Maryknoll Mission Archives. https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/the-maryknoll-medical-bureau-medicine-and-mission/
Halloran, J., Conning, S., Polasek, T., & Cairns, M. (2025, February). Compassionate voices. ArcGIS StoryMaps. https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/7d87a00cdda24be6981c14e76777604b
Jubilee 2025 – Pilgrims of Hope. USCCB. (2025). https://www.usccb.org/jubilee2025
Jubilee of the sick and Health Care Workers usccb resource packet (English). USCCB. (2025). https://www.usccb.org/resources/jubilee-sick-and-health-care-workers-usccb-resource-packet-english
Maryknoll Lay Missioners. (2020, August 5). Maryknoll’s first lay missioner. https://mklm.org/healthcare/maryknolls-first-lay-missioner/
Polasek, T. (2025, January 8). Voices of lay missioners. Maryknoll Mission Archives. https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/voices-of-lay-missioners/
Profile – Kylene Fremling. Maryknoll Lay Missioners. (2023, April 4). https://mklm.org/our-people/missioners/profile-kylene-fremling/
Profile – Marj Humphrey. Maryknoll Lay Missioners. (2024, November 15). https://mklm.org/our-people/missioners/profile-marj-humphrey/
Sconning. (2024, April 24). Medical missions. Maryknoll Mission Archives. https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/medical-missions/
Spicer, K. (2022, February 4). Medical care. Maryknoll Mission Archives. https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/research-guides/china-collections-guide/medical-care/
Wikimedia Foundation. (2025, February 24). United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Relief_and_Rehabilitation_Administration
Former Lay Missioner Liz Mach, Tanzania
Former Maryknoll Lay Missioner Judy Walter in mission in Kenya
Maryknoll Lay Missioner Kylene Fremling at LaValla School in Cambodia
