Father Robert J. Cairns, MM
Hear his biography read by Father John P Martin, M.M.
Born: August 21, 1884
Ordained: May 18, 1918
Died: December 14, 1941 (presumably)
WE ARE MARYKNOLL
​WE ARE MARYKNOLL
A community of Catholic missionaries bound together by oath.
As joyful missionary disciples of Jesus Christ – motivated by love and challenged by the Gospel – we reach across borders, geographical and situational, and build bridges of solidarity among the poor and marginalized that reflect God’s merciful love and compassion in the context of a constantly evolving universe.
We’re nomad people stirred by a passion stronger than ourselves to travel unknown trails and share our soul with people we don’t know.
We say goodbye to family to go out and find a home among strangers. Our culture becomes the beat of African drums and the whistle of Andean flutes.
Our Comfort – Being Fed By The Hungry And Cared For By The Poor
We go off to preach a God who rules and discover a God in pain, to announce a God of power and find a God of tears. And when we listen to suffering people sing and watch the downtrodden dance, We Meet A God Who Laughs
Wrapped In The Clothes Of The Poor And Given Courage By Their Prophets, we’ve been imprisoned in Asia, fevered by mosquitoes in Tanzania, murdered in El Salvador, and have come to know the Jesus of the cross.
In Asia, Africa and Latin America, we join hands with sowers and builders, teachers and healers, planners and prophets.
In mysterious ways we’re blessed by extended hands in distant lands, and loved by many, cursed by some, suffering or smiling, we do all in Jesus’ name.
~ Fr. Jim Hilgeman M.M.
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OUR HISTORY
OUR HISTORY
OVER 100 YEARS OF TRADITION
When two American priests from distinctly different backgrounds met in Montreal in 1910, they discovered they had one thing in common...
NEW MARYKNOLLERS
NEW MARYKNOLLERS
Everything we have been able to accomplish as missioners and everything we hope to accomplish fills us with gratitude toward our Founders, whose dream became the gift that Maryknoll is for all of us
“I discovered a strong passion within me to step beyond my cultural experience and engage the vast richness of the Holy Spirit that is woven into the many cultures that blanket this globe.”
OUR FOUNDERS
​OUR FOUNDERS
​“Go where you are needed but not wanted,
and stay until you are wanted but not needed.”
​Father James E. Walsh
First Maryknoll Bishop
Father James Walsh and Father Thomas Price first met in 1910, at the 21st Eucharistic Conference held in Montreal, Canada. In one of their encounters, Father Walsh shared his vision of U.S. Catholic mission with Father Price. Realizing they shared a common call to mission, the urbane Father Walsh and the more rural Father Price collaborated on plans for a mission society within the U.S. Catholic Church.
Soon after, the bishops of the United States formally sanctioned the pursuit of their vision to recruit, send and support U.S. missioners around the world. With this approval, Father Walsh and Father Price traveled to Rome to present their vision of mission. They received the blessing of Pope Pius X on June 29, 1911 (the feast of Saints Peter and Paul), which is the founding day of the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America.
​During their travels to Rome, Father Price decided to visit Lourdes, France and learn about the apparitions of Mother Mary to Bernadette Soubirous. He then realized a completely new sense of mission and from this time forward, he devoted himself to the Blessed Mother. With this new inspiration, he then re-named Sunset Hill as Mary's Knoll. Thus, the beginnings of the new society more popularly known as Maryknoll.
Father Walsh’s interest in the foreign missions led to his founding, together with Rev. Thomas Frederick Price, the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America (C.F.M.S.A.) (commonly referred to as the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers) in 1911... Learn more about Fr. Walsh
After meeting with the Holy Father, Father Price traveled to Lourdes for the first time. During his stay at Lourdes, Price had a spiritual experience that was to significantly affect all of his future life. Price refers to the experience in his personal diary... Learn more about Fr, Price
OUR HEROES
OUR HEROES
SPREADING THE LOVE OF GOD
TO THE SUFFERING AND POOR
VOCATION NEWSLETTER
Join Father Mike Snyder each month as he shares recent events and reflections on Maryknoll Vocations and those who commit to a life of service and mission.