In coming editions of the Alliance Report, we’ll be spotlighting our members who have joined with the National Postal Museum in their endeavor to help tell the story of America’s Mailing Industry.

This week, our focus is on Maryknoll. (excerpted from The National Postal Museum website)

The idea of Maryknoll itself was in part born of inspiration that arrived in the mail.

Imagine yourself living in a remote village in Southern China, among the Aymara people high in the Peruvian Altiplano or with the indigenous tribes of Tanzania sometime in the early 20th century. You have just started to learn the language and are adjusting to new cultural norms. You’ve brought a few supplies and the hope of your Catholic faith that your actions will make a difference in someone else’s life. The only tie to the life you left behind in the United States is the fragile letters that have sailed across oceans to reach you. This is the life of the Priests, Brothers and Sisters of the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America and the Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic.

The Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America (commonly known as the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers) and the Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic, founded in 1911 and 1912 respectively, are the first American Society and Congregation of religious dedicated to foreign mission. Members of the Society and Congregation would bring the message of Jesus Christ and the Catholic faith to the poor and marginalized of the world. Maryknollers promote healthcare, provide educational opportunities, combat poverty, build communities and spread justice and peace among the people they serve.

Millions of letters have flowed in and out of Maryknoll for more than one hundred years in the mailbags of the United States Postal Service (USPS).

These letters brought news of the health and well-being of its missioners, stories of their experiences in the field and reports of conditions affecting the people in the countries where they serve. They kept the Society running, assured missioners’ families and friends of their security and helped maintain important relationships with supporters and benefactors.

The idea of Maryknoll itself was in part born of inspiration that arrived in the mail.

“It was an affecting letter, and I have never forgotten it.” These words, spoken by co-founder Fr. James Anthony Walsh, reference handwritten letters from European priests describing their mission experiences in foreign lands. Their words inspired Fr. Walsh to explore and promote the role American Catholics could have in affecting change in the world…

Along with the work of the co-founders, the dream of Maryknoll would never have been realized without educating American Catholic religious and lay persons about the importance of mission work. The underlying hope then and now was that knowledge would lead to action. The primary educational vehicle for this knowledge was The Field Afar, a magazine first published in January 1907, when Fr. Walsh was the Director of the Society of the Propagation of the Faith in Boston. The Boston Post Office saw to it that this periodical, mailed as second-class matter, was delivered to individual and organizational subscribers, bringing the message of mission to their doorsteps…

Over time, other mailings, including resources for teachers and students and various appeals for assistance, have supplemented the magazine. The core of each mailing still draws on the first-hand accounts mailed home by Maryknoll missioners.

The USPS has not only helped Maryknoll distribute its message, but it has also carried back the letters of support, encouragement, prayers and financial assistance that makes mission possible.

Today, more than one hundred years later, the USPS is still Maryknoll’s partner in maintaining relationships with its missioners overseas and its supporters at home, providing information about the plight of the poor and marginalized of the world and inspiring action among American Catholics who have been moved by the message of mission.

Learn more about America’s Mailing Industry through the National Postal Museum by clicking HERE.