In this Winter issue, Maryknoll missioners reflect Pope Francis’ call to Christians to “abound in hope” by caring for people with HIV/AIDS in Kenya; visiting young prison inmates in El Salvador; and welcoming migrants, exiles and refugees at the U.S.-Mexico border. In Bolivia and Zimbabwe, Maryknoll projects bring together young people and elders in examples of what the Holy Father calls a “covenant between generations.” As we begin the Jubilee Year, read about how Maryknoll priests, sisters, brothers and lay people serve as Pilgrims of Hope across the world.
Focused on Maryknoll missioners around the world working in solidarity among the poor and marginalized. Articles include issues of importance to people the missioners serve and to the Catholic Church.
Sister Jeanne Rancourt answers a call to care for asylum seekers in a U.S. border city The appeal that went out to all congregations of sisters across the United States last fall was urgent. The president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) was pleading for volunteers to come to...
Maryknoll helps Hispanic youth in Texas to serve in mission During a short-term immersion trip to Bolivia organized by Maryknoll last year, Dulce Tovar visited a tutoring program run by Maryknoll Father Paul Sykora for children at high risk in Cochabamba. As she was helping an 8-year-old girl with...
Ryan Thibert, from Canada, takes his permanent oath as a Maryknoll brother Recalling his first visit to the Maryknoll Society campus in Ossining, N.Y., Ryan Thibert says, “I felt I had finally arrived at my home, the place I was called to be.” After eight years of study and service, he will take...
Our theme, “Love in Action,” referenced Pope Francis’ letter Rejoice and Be Glad in which he reminds us we are called to live our lives with love, not necessarily through extraordinary deeds but through everyday acts of kindness. Students were asked to tell a true story of someone sharing God’s...
Maryknoll priest returns to Yucatán, Mexico, to celebrate missioners who served there One balmy evening last November, I walked in liturgical procession behind the panoply of acolytes, readers and a deacon through the arches of the church of San Sebastian in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. As the...
WEB-ONLY FEATURE: It all started during World Youth Day week, when Maryknoll Sister Geraldine “Gerri” Brake, who runs Nueva Vida home for the elderly, received a surprise invitation from Panama’s archbishop to be among three people meeting Pope Francis at a morning Mass on Jan. 26. The day...
WEB-ONLY FEATURE: Volunteering in El Paso center for refugees reminds a Maryknoll priest of life’s meaning “The chimes of freedom are flashing for the refugees on the unarmed road to flight.” Long before I hit the ground running in a hospitality center for refugees and migrants in El Paso, Texas,...
WEB-ONLY FEATURE: Maryknoll priest reports on his eye-opening experience with asylum seekers on U.S. border Recently, I was helping at the Catholic Relief Service’s Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen, Texas, caring for anywhere from 350 to 700 new asylum seekers each day. All are families with...
Father Bill Mullan champions the rights of Mayan people in Guatemala Father Bill Mullan and his young driver pull up in a 4x4 at the dirt-floored wooden chapel of Limon, El Remate, a Mayan village in the Petén region of Guatemala. The Maryknoll missioner from Brooklyn, N.Y., has come to celebrate...
Latest news from mission sites and countries around the world.
A database about Native American boarding schools affiliated with the Catholic Church is a resource and a step toward healing, advocates say.
After a journey of two long years, an Afghan refugee who had worked for the United States is reunited with his wife and children in Kentucky.
Religious congregations join forces to offer shelter and accompaniment to migrants traveling en route to other places or settling in Costa Rica.
A Maryknoll sister who works in pastoral care, education and advocacy reflects on world hunger and this Sunday’s Mass readings.
With conditions deteriorating worldwide, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom names 17 countries of particular concern.
With plans set for World Youth Day to be held Aug. 1-6 in Lisbon, Portugal, Pope Francis asks young people to make the world more humane.
During his visit, Pope Francis calls upon Hungary to open its doors not only to Ukrainians but to all migrants and to others in need.
On the 2023 World Day of Prayer for Vocations, Pope Francis said that vocations are like a symphony played on diverse instruments in harmony.
A Maryknoll priest discusses Peter’s discourse from this Sunday’s Mass readings in light of his family’s story-telling in Kenya.
Ten years after a Bangladeshi factory complex collapsed, killing 1,134 workers and injuring 2,500 others, perilous labor conditions continue.
Indigenous immigrants from Venezuela, including the Warao, struggle to establish their rights under Brazil’s governmental policies.
Catholic Relief Services helps 100,000 farm families implement sustainable agriculture practices in the region devastated by climate change.
Officials announce that the United States, Colombia and Panama will implement plans to block the Darién Gap as record numbers of migrants risk their lives.
A Maryknoll lay missioner serving in South Sudan reflects on the Mass readings for the Third Sunday of Easter.
Even when we feel far from God, God never leaves us When inviting people to come to church,...
Partner in Mission dedicates himself to propagating the Golden Rule My friend Ray Kalainikas has a banner hanging in front of his house...
Vignettes from the lands of mission, told by Maryknoll missioners and volunteers. These popular little stories are sometimes funny, often moving and generally inspiring encounters with people on the margins.
During my first month in Shariatpur town in Bangladesh, where I visit the sick poor and often accompany them to the hospital, a woman gently turned down my invitation to take her, her husband and their disabled son to a Dhaka hospital. I later returned to see them and...
A mix of push and pull factors force people to migrate There are about 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. Many of them live in families with mixed immigration status, that is,...
Readers respond to our print, web and social media posts FAITH NOT FEAR The January/February 2019 Spirit of Mission column, “Faith in time of turmoil,” by Father Joseph R. Veneroso was one of the...
