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December 11, 2016

12/11/2016

Jilin Seminary Tribute to Tom Egan on the Occasion of his returning to the USA....Fr. Thomas Qian-Rector

My Dear Brothers and Sisters:

   Tonight, we gather here together with a heart of gratitude and thankfulness to see our dear and best friend Father Tom off with a small party.

  Father Tom, as the first Maryknoll missionary who was officially sent to China in 1992 since the Reform and Opening in China in 1978, has worked in China for over twenty years. His missionary steps reached to many different places such as Jilin, Shenyang, Yanji, and Jiangmen. But his first service began at Jilin Catholic Seminary.

   We have to say that Father Tom`s coming was the most precious gift granted by God to Jilin Seminary in its most difficult period and time. A priest whom I know told me that when he studied in the seminary, he did not even know what religious societies or orders were, because he never came into touch with foreign missionaries. But when Father Tom came ,everything changed: he began to see the world in a more universal way and saw the Church as truly Catholic. He saw a very different spirit in the deep heart of Father Tom: energetic, zealous, dedicated……Father Tom changed his life and made him understand what being a priest really meant.

   Just like what I said, Father Tom was the first Maryknoll missionary who was officially sent to China since the Reform and Opening in China and He chose Jilin as his home. He never regarded his work appointed to him as a job that had to be accepted .No, he regarded it as a mission, a vocation from God, so he tended his flock,the seminarians and the resident priests, with all of his mind ,all of his soul and all of his heart. He, with his extraordinary example,showed to the seminarians studying in this seminary what a priest is and what a priest should be.

   Father Tom is not only a Father, but also a grandfather, a grandfather with wisdom. He, through his ministerial experiences, gave the most precious Catholic Tradition to us, these young Chinese candidates to priesthood. His whole life is like a bright light of faith and virtue that touched, not only the people of Jilin, but everywhere he served.

   Thank you, Father Tom! You have loved the Church of China with your body and soul which is far beyond everyone`s imagination, and you have sanctified every place where you served with your holiness, so that we can experience God`s presence and love through you. Thank you!

   In addition, thank you Maryknoll for sending so many other wonderful and excellent missionaries besides Father Tom: Father Brian Barrons, Brother Joe, Father Jim, Father Tim, Father Shaun, Father Rodrigo and those young、energetic and dedicated Maryknoll teachers to the Church of China, to Jilin Diocese, especially to this seminary. We really can`t express our gratitude just in words, but we beg God to bless all of you, bless the society of Maryknoll.

In a word , thank you Father Tom, thank you Maryknoll!

   Thank you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                          

Posted at 06:31 PM | | Comments (0)

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Maryknoll

  • Tools for Evangelization Link
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5sfU7JPbQc&list=PLSlEQOucr48SDr7dYXlUkaai5tQVQKjNb
  • Maryknoll
    Maryknoll was established in 1911 as the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America by the Bishops of the United States. Responsibility for its development fell to two diocesan priests, Fr. James Anthony Walsh of Boston and Fr. Thomas Frederick Price of North Carolina, with the commission to recruit, send and support U.S. missioners in areas around the world. On June 29, 1911, Pope Pius X blessed the founding of Maryknoll. Maryknoll's first missioners left for China in 1918. Today there are over 450 Maryknoll priests and Brothers serving in countries around the world, principally in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Maryknoll History

  • Maryknoll's Founders
    Bishop James A Walsh James Anthony Walsh, son of James Walsh and Hanna Shea, was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on February 24, 1867. After completing his elementary education in the public schools, he attended Boston College High School where, in extracurricular activities, his skills in debating and journalism were first recognized and developed. He began his college program at Boston College, interrupted it to study bookkeeping, transferred to Harvard College as a "special student", and completed his studies at St. John's Seminary in Brighton, Massachusetts. He was ordained on May 20, 1892, at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston. Early Accomplishments After ordination, Walsh was appointed curate at St. Patrick's Church in Roxbury, Massachusetts where he directed sodalities and organizations for both the young men and women of the parish. In 1903, he was appointed Diocesan Director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith and in 1907 founded The Field Afar magazine, a monthly publication about the foreign missions of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America 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. He acted as spiritual father and co-founder, with Mother Mary Joseph Rogers, of the Foreign Mission Sisters of St. Dominic (now called Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic). He served as Superior General of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers until his death in 1936. During the founding process and in his service as Superior General, Walsh made trips across the United States, to Rome and to other places throughout the world. A Lifetime of Service In 1933, Walsh was elected to the episcopacy and named Titular Bishop of Siene. He was consecrated in Rome on June 29, 1933, in the College of Propaganda Fide by Cardinal Fumasoni-Biondi. He died at Maryknoll, New York, on April 14, 1936. Fr.Price Youth and Education As a youth, Price had close contact with the priests of his parish (St. Thomas, Wilmington, North Carolina). One priest who figured prominently in his early life was Bishop James Gibbons, newly appointed first Vicar Apostolic of North Carolina. Gibbons established his headquarters at St. Thomas Church and soon began to show a special interest in young Price. Price often served Mass for Gibbons and accompanied him on special trips throughout the Vicariate. With his religious background (especially the deep devotion of his mother to the Blessed Virgin), Price soon felt an attraction to the priesthood. He confided his interest to the parish priest, Fr. Mark Gross, and arrangements were made for him to enter St. Charles Seminary at Catonsville, Maryland, in August, 1876. On route to the seminary by ship, Price escaped death in the shipwreck of the Rebecca Clyde. Price attributed his survival to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. After the accident, he returned home until January 1877. Price attended St. Charles' Seminary from January 1877, until his commencement on June 28, 1881. On September 1881, he entered St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 20, 1886, by Bishop Northrup at the pro-cathedral in Wilmington, North Carolina (Both of Price's parents had died prior to his ordination.) Price was the first North Carolinian to be ordained to the priesthood, and he was assigned to missionary work in the eastern section of his native state. Early Years of Priesthood Within one year after his ordination, Price was appointed the pastor of the few Catholics in and around the towns of Asheville and Bern. After the first few years of priesthood, he obtained permission from Bishop Haid, his ordinary, to begin a statewide evangelization program. His methods were influenced by Fr. Eliott, a famous Paulist preacher. One of Price's tools for evangelization was the publication of the magazine Truth, which he began to publish and edit in April 1897. A second tool was the establishment of Nazareth Orphanage in 1898. Price's plan was to first help the underprivileged of an area and thereby win the favor of the general population who would then be more inclined to listen to the message of the missionary. Following the success of the Nazareth Orphanage, Price organized summer catechizing teams of seminarians. Finally, in 1902, Price opened his missionary training house at Nazareth. It was a preparatory seminary whose sole purpose was the education and formation of missionaries for the home missions. It was called Regina Apostolorum. From 1902 to 1909, Price directed the Regina Apostolorum and acted as its primary teacher and spiritual director. Plans for a Foreign Mission Seminary As time went on, Price began to emphasize more and more often in the pages of Truth the need of a seminary for the training of young American men for the foreign missions. At the same time, Rev. James Anthony Walsh, of Boston, was developing the same idea in the pages of The Field Afar. At the Eucharistic Congress in Montreal in 1910, the two priests met and began to formulate plans for the establishment of a seminary for foreign missionaries. With the approval of the American hierarchy, the two priests traveled to Rome in June 1911, to receive final approval from Pope Pius X for their project. After meeting with the Holy 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. A special devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes and Bernadette Soubirous would follow him all the way to his death. Returning to the United States, Price, together with Walsh, began the plans for the establishment of the new seminary and the foreign mission society. After a brief stay at Hawthorne, New York, property was purchased at Ossining, New York, for the site of the new society: the American Catholic Foreign Mission Society (popularly known as Maryknoll). Foreign Missions Begin Price made an around-the-country tour of America to gain support for the new endeavor. By 1918, three young priests (Frs. James E. Walsh, Francis X. Ford, and Bernard F. Meyer) were ready for the foreign missions in China. On September 7, Price went with them as superior to the new missions. From the time of the foundation of Maryknoll, Price had understood that Walsh was the one capable of administering and directing the seminary itself. Price himself had always hoped to be chosen as one of Maryknoll's first missioners, and his dream was realized. Because of his age, Price had great difficulty learning the Chinese language. He also suffered from physical ailments. On September 12, 1919, he died in Hong Kong as a result of a burst appendix. In 1936, his body was exhumed and transferred to the cemetery at Maryknoll, New York. In 1955, his remains, together with those of Bishop James A. Walsh, were finally interred in the crypt below the Maryknoll Seminary Chapel.