Maryknoll Lay Missioners celebrated its 50th anniversary Aug. 14-17 in Ossining, New York. Visit our anniversary hub to learn more and watch select events that were live-streamed and recorded.
A milestone worth celebrating
For several years, Maryknoll Lay Missioners reflected on what reaching 50 years of mission would mean. For those who have shaped our history, lived the experience, and been transformed by the life of mission, it is impossible to capture everything that could be said or celebrated. The plan was to create moments throughout the year that would culminate in an in-person Jubilee Celebration from August 14–17, 2025.
And it came to pass. The Spirit of God blessed our gathering at Maryknoll, New York, beyond expectations—with joy, with invitation, and with hope for the next 50 years.
This Jubilee year gave Maryknoll Lay Missioners the chance to celebrate the past, reflect on today’s challenges, and set our vision toward a horizon that still requires courage, faith, hope, and love in a new world.
Voices that inspired us
The themes that emerged inspired reflection on a journey still in progress. In her homily at the Vigil Mass of the Feast of the Assumption, Sr. Teresa Hougnon proclaimed Maryknoll Lay Missioners as heralds of the Magnificat, called and sent “for justice and social change in some of the most disparate places, like Haiti, South Sudan and the U.S.-Mexican border. Today, your presence in El Salvador is a testament of God’s love and mercy.”
Speakers Sr. Ellen McDonald and Fr. John Sivalon invited us to deepen our resolve and open our minds to “a new narrative of light,” which understands “mission as mysticism of encounter, based on our profound belief in the abiding presence of God in creation.”
Fr. Sivalon added, “This Jubilee offers a tremendous opportunity to share our stories and the stories of all those people with whom we have lived and worked. Let us listen to them with a mystical ear as we contemplate the working of God throughout our lives. Like scripture itself, let our stories reveal the newness of God’s working in our lives even in these times of darkness. Our stories are the stories of God’s light.”
Moments of truth and hope
The reunion of friends, the recounting of stories, and the sharing of new ones strengthened Maryknoll Lay Missioners’ rootedness and our expanding relationships with the Maryknoll Society, Congregation, and Affiliates.
It was proper and good to celebrate together our common history and shared dreams for mission, even as we recognized the distinct gifts each branch of Maryknoll brings to the Church and the communities we serve.
For the nearly 120 people who gathered, the Jubilee was sacred space and sacred time—both personal and communal. There were sobering moments, as we accompanied Sam Stanton and his family through prayer during his final days. We also faced the “level of disorder and depth of despair that we humans are facing right now,” as described by Marie Dennis in her keynote address.
Yet Marie did not leave it there. Instead, Marie guided us to contemplate “two directions in which we humans are heading that I call transformational signs of hope: cosmic consciousness and nonviolence.”
She inspired us to reflect on nonviolence as “a beautiful, powerful, fitting companion to cosmic consciousness. Nonviolence is much more than a political strategy; it is a spirituality through which we see and interpret life, a set of virtues and principles for personal and social transformation, part of that new paradigm that is replacing the old paradigm of destructive competition, domination and accumulation.”
Called to mission
Speaker Bishop John Stowe reminded us of the special gifts that the call to mission grants to those who respond. Quoting Pope Francis, he emphasized the Church’s call to move from the center to the peripheries, from maintenance to mission.
He encouraged Maryknoll Lay Missioners to make our stories examples of interconnectedness and testimonies to God’s presence everywhere.
He also challenged us with the question raised by the Bishops of Latin America: “How can the Church be aligned with the powers of authority when millions of people suffer?”
Looking forward, Bishop Stowe invited us into “charitable listening,” central to the synodal process initiated by Pope Francis.
Rooted and renewed
Maryknoll Lay Missioners’ Golden Jubilee is more than a milestone—it is a new beginning. It is a time to recommit ourselves to living as missionary disciples, to confront the challenges ahead, and to embrace both visionaries and pragmatists as prophets, mystics, and ministers. Our world needs joy, compassion, nonviolence, inclusion, humility, and community more than ever.
We are not alone. We need one another, our community partners, and the faithfulness of the One whose mission we serve. With marvelous companions for the journey and with gratitude, we say yes to another blessed 50 years.
We invite all to walk with us into this next chapter of mission—through prayer, support, and solidarity—as together we continue to witness God’s love in our world.
Elvira Ramirez is Maryknoll Lay Missioners’ executive director.
