Maryknoll Society Center Walking Tour

Standing tall in the front lawn of the Seminary, this towering Red Oak is nearly 100 years old. The tree was planted as a sapling by one of Maryknoll’s Founders,  Fr. James A. Walsh , on Arbor Day 1926. Two months later on Foundation day, June 29 ^th , Fr. Walsh spoke about the new sapling and the 15 year old Society:

 “How shall we keep this tree strong?  What can we do to make it such that it will bring forth fruit in due season, that its leaf shall not fall off?’ The answer is a simple one.  Here, at the root of the tree, we must be watchful, prayerful, loving labor, patient, opening our souls, each and every one of us, to God’s graces so that they may saturate its very roots…If we be keen here at home and in the outposts to think not of one portion of the tree but of the whole tree, all will be well.”

There is also a plaque at the base of the tree commemorating it's planting. On it is a poem named "Trees" read by Seminarian  William F. Schulz  at the planting of the tree.

In front of the Seminary is an arched entrance covered by the familiar green tiled roof. The style of the entrance serves as a symbol of generosity and a gesture of welcome. The carving immediately above the arch is  Christ the King , holding the world in his hand. The inscription on the carving reads:

Euntes Docete, Omnes Gentes. “Going, teach all nations,”

Above to the left and right are the shields for two great missionary patrons. On the left is Saint Peter, and on the right is Saint Paul.

Rescued from a Buddhist temple that burned, the bell was acquired by Superior General  Fr. James A. Walsh  during his 1918 visit to Japan from Father Deffrennes, a missioner stationed in a small town near Sendai. The bell made its voyage to Maryknoll on the S.S. Empress of Russia. Arriving a few weeks before Maryknoll’s first departure ceremony, the bell first rang on September 7, 1918 as the Society’s first group of missioners departed for China.

The bell weighs about 200 pounds and was typically only rung during departure ceremonies. It hangs from a representation of a Japanese  Torii gate , the traditional entrance to Japanese Shinto temples. A closer look shows the bell is inscribed with multiple panels of Japanese text.

The creation of the Our Lady of Maryknoll Statue was the idea of  Fr. James A. Walsh  and Society benefactress Miss Wilhelmine Collbaugh. Fr. Walsh wanted a source of inspiration for everyone at Maryknoll, and a centerpiece for Departure Ceremonies. Fr. Walsh approached Maryknoll  Sr. Marie Pierre Semler  to create an initial sketch, which was finalized in 1929. The statue was created by  Mr. Giacomo Mussner  in Ortisei, Italy and arrived in New York in September of 1930.

The creation of the kiosk was supervised by  Br. Albert Staubli , fresh off of ten years missioning in China. The kiosk was started in 1931 and was worked on by Maryknoll Brothers and Seminarians. The Kiosk was finished in 1932, just in time for that year’s Departure Ceremony.

The Rosary House was one of three original buildings that were on the property when it was purchased by the Society in 1912. In its 50+ year history it served as home for the Society’s first seminary, then the Maryknoll Sisters until construction of their own Motherhouse was completed in 1932, and finally for the Maryknoll Brothers for more than 30 years. 

The house was demolished in 1967, replaced with the present parking lot. There is a plaque commemorating the building near the entrance to the parking lot, where the front porch once stood.

In 2021 it became one of two solar panel installation sites on campus producing clean energy for the community as part of the Society’s commitment to responsible stewardship of God’s creation.

The  Celtic Christian Cross  emerged in Ireland and Britain during the Early Middle Ages. Its use became widespread, especially in regions evangelized by Irish missionaries.

From 1913 until 1967, this copper Celtic Cross was situated on the roof of the original farm house (renamed Rosary House) that once stood on this property. Entry 5, Rosary House, provides a look at where the Cross was formerly located. The cross was saved when the house was demolished in 1967 and it now lives at the entrance of the Maryknoll Cemetery.

When the Maryknoll Society first arrived here in 1912, there was no Cemetery present on the grounds. When  Sr. Mary Louise Wholean  died in 1917, she was initially buried in the St. Augustine Cemetery in Ossining. By 1920, the Society saw the need to start their own Cemetery and  Br. Brendan Bobb  was the first to be interred in February, 1921.

Since Br. Bobb, many Maryknollers have been laid to rest in the Cemetery, including both Maryknoll Co-Founders in 1936. Their graves were located side by side near the Crucifix at the bottom of the hill until 1956, when they were  transferred to the crypt in the Maryknoll Seminary Building . In addition to the Fathers and Brothers buried in the Cemetery, there are also 50 Maryknoll Sisters, several Maryknoll Seminarians, and a few lay people connected to Maryknoll, including one Lay Missioner.

While you walk along the cemetery, you can see markers denoting the many Maryknollers who were Veterans. Every year on Memorial Day, flags are placed at each marker in honor of their service.

The original St. Joseph's was actually a barn that was one of the three original buildings on the property. Initially St. Joseph's was used as a workshop, but in 1918 it was fully finished into a "thoroughly equipped domicile for our philosophers and auxiliary brothers, with thirty-five airy rooms." (Field Afar, March 1918, p. 44) The hall also contained an auto-repair shed, a museum, a photography studio, and a 120-seat auditorium.

In 1955, the Society replaced the aging Hall with a new building. This would include a new garage and shop, and it was to be named “St. Christopher’s”. Upon completion, the building was instead named the “St. Joseph’s Institute”. The new St. Joseph’s served as a training facility that taught the Maryknoll Brothers various trades, such as auto-repair, masonry, carpentry, electricity, and printing.

In 1987, it was decided to renovate the 1st floor into an office space and move the garage to another building. After these renovations, St. Joseph’s housed the Society’s Controller and Treasury Department.

In 1917, Katherine Slattery joined the Maryknoll Sisters. Katherine had worked for the Postal Service for twenty-one years prior to entering Maryknoll. With the amount of mail going in and out of Maryknoll, her expertise was just what Maryknoll needed to establish an official post office. In 1921 Katherine, now  Sr. Margaret Mary , opened the first United States Post Office at Maryknoll and became its first Postmistress.

The volume of mail flowing through Maryknoll reached sufficient levels that it eventually required its own zip code, 10545. This volume consists of many Maryknoll publications, such as The Field Afar (later Maryknoll Magazine), Revista (later Misioneros), as well as materials from direct marketing and letters sent to and from Maryknoll missioners around the world. Under Sr. Mary Margaret’s direction, it transformed from a Fourth Class to a First Class Post Office.

After Sr. Margaret Mary retired in 1945, two Maryknoll Sisters and one Maryknoll Brother served as postmistresses/postmaster over the next forty years. 

Maryknoll’s post office history is featured in the Smithsonian National Postal Museum’s virtual exhibition, “ America’s Mailing Industry ”.

The original Maryknoll Sisters arrived at the Maryknoll property on September 18, 1912 and were in need of a new home. They were given one of the farmhouses already present on the property, just south of the current Price Building and Post Office. This building, named St. Teresa's honoring St. Teresa of Avila, served as the first home of the Sisters. The rapid growth of the Sisters throughout the 1920's meant they would eventually inhabit seven buildings across the property. By 1932, the Motherhouse across the road was completed and all the Sisters residing in St. Teresa's moved out.

The building was then used as the editorial headquarters for the Society's mission education and promotion projects until 1956, when it was torn down. At the same time, a new convent was being built for Sisters working with the Society. As a way of remembering the original home of the Sisters, this new convent was also named St. Teresa's and still stands today on the North side of the property.

Near the site of Old St. Teresa's is the Stepping Stone. This is a large stone slab with a set of stairs that was just off the house. It was used by the early Sisters to help them get into horse-drawn carriages. The stone and several plaques are the only reminders of the building's presence and its importance to the Maryknoll Sisters.

The current Walsh building was constructed in three phases, starting in 1915. The first section was named St. Peter’s and it functioned as an office for producing the Society’s magazine The Field Afar (Maryknoll).

In 1919 the building was extended, adding a Power House and Laundry. This section was called St. Paul’s, though the whole building was affectionately known as the “Field Afar Building”.

In 1953 the smoke stack and boiler room were added, finishing the structure and giving it an L Shape. Sometime later the building was renamed as the Walsh Building. The building would later house various departments such as  Orbis Books , and would later become home to the  Maryknoll Lay Missioners  in 2013.