Sr. Rose Debrecht, 1922-2014 passed at age 91 and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 73 years. She was a school Principal in Hong Kong speaking Cantonese, Macau and Mandarin. Maryknoll Sisters of Saint Dominic were founded in 1912. Through their pionee

Maryknoll • Melanie Burford

 

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The Maryknoll Sisters

By Melanie Burford

The Maryknoll Sisters were pioneers. 109 years ago, these incredible women defied the odds by becoming the first US-based Catholic Sisters to become missionaries.

Founded in 1912, the Maryknoll Sisters traveled the world, building schools, nursing the sick, and protecting the vulnerable. In 1963, their numbers peaked at 1,669. Now there are only 335 Sisters serving in 24 countries around the world.

Vatican statistics from 2016 show the number of sisters was down 10,885 from the previous year to 659,445 globally. Ten years prior, there were 753,400 nuns around the world, meaning the Catholic Church shed nearly 100,000 sisters in the span of a decade.

In the Maryknoll Sisters Residential Center in Ossining, New York, 70 retired Maryknoll Sisters adjust to their new lives after living abroad for 50-60 years. Many of the Sisters are over the age of ninety. And as each Sister passes, their stories of selfless dedication to humanity are lost with them.