Just over 100 years ago, a woman and her chauffeur drove up a long winding hill, now known as Ryder Road, to look at an expansive piece of hilltop property with a majestic view of the Hudson River, known to local residents simply as Sunset Hill.
Successfully purchasing the property which the chauffeur instantly Christened “Mary’s Knoll”, the two drove back to Hawthorne, NY, where they then lived, satisfied that a permanent home for the first US-based Catholic mission organization had been found.
The woman was Mother Mary Joseph, MM, founder of Maryknoll Sisters, and the man serving as her chauffeur was, in reality, Father James Anthony Walsh, MM, founder of the Maryknoll Society, a.k.a. Maryknoll Fathers & Brothers.
Twenty years later, facing a burgeoning influx of both men and women interested in dedicating themselves to religious life and worldwide missions, the Sisters moved out of the large farmhouse on the west side of Ryder Road in 1932 into their own new convent on the opposite side of the road. This main building would have a new wing added to it in 1956, where many of the Center's offices are now located. Then, in 1968, the Rogers building, erected to house the Mary Rogers College, where the Sisters studied prior to being sent out on mission, opened. It is now home to the Maryknoll Mission Institute, the Rogers Library and Sisters' housing.
Since its founding in 1912, over 3,500 women have entered Maryknoll, serving in a variety of capacities in many nations of the world. Today the congregation numbers nearly 500, the eldest of them turning 106 in late June. They serve in 25 different nations, touching several different continents including Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the United States. Some are doctors and nurses, others writers, artists, theologians and musicians, and yet others psychologists, social workers, community activists, spokespersons to the United Nations, and much more.
On Saturday, June 15, 2013, in conjunction with the celebration of the Ossining Bicentennial, the Maryknoll Sisters will hold a special open house at their center, 10 Pinesbridge Road, Ossining, NY, from 2- 4 p.m. giving tours of some of the special historical and architectural points of interest of the house, as well as assisting those who wish to give themselves tours of the well manicured grounds, statuary and grottoes.
The tours, which will be offered free of charge at 2:00, 2:30 and 3:00 p.m., will be conducted by Sisters who are most familiar with the history of their congregation, including Sister Claudette LaVerdiere, MM, author of the award-winning book, “On the Threshold of the Future: The Life and Spirituality of Mother Mary Joseph Rogers” and a former president of Maryknoll Sisters.
The open house will also include the opportunity for visitors to chat casually with the Sisters for whom the Center is their home, view videos of the Sisters' work and history, and enjoy refreshments, also provided without cost.
For more information about the tour, please call 1-914-941-7575.
