It was my pleasure and honor to be at the 7th world reunion of the alumnae of Maryknoll Sister’s School in Hong Kong on February 19, 2010. Although I lived in Hong Kong for many years, I never had a chance to visit Maryknoll Sister’s School in Hong Kong nor the Maryknoll Convent School in Kowloon . How did I get connected?

My first intimate contact with them was in 2003, November 23, Feast of Christ the King, when the Maryknoll Alumnae , both MSS and MCS, had their annual reunion in San Francisco, and I was invited to preside at the Eucharist Celebration, and the same time they invited also the students from other Catholic schools in Hong Kong to join. Since then, I have been invited to almost every annual reunion of the Maryknoll Alumnae Association of California , a MCS and MSS combined association. Although I would love see the inside of this prestigious school, I had no sufficient reason to visit.

By the constant encouragement and persuasion of the Bay Area alumnae, plus the fact that I happened to be in Beijing during that time, I embraced the opportunity, and took a short flight from Beijing.

The Maryknoll Sisters arrived in Hong Kong in 1927 to start their education mission under the name Holy Spirit School. It was closed during the war, and reopened in 1948 under the name Maryknoll .

In 1978, Maryknoll Sisters primary and secondary School in Hong Kong ‘s administration was handed over to the Columban Sisters and the two schools were renamed Marymount in 1983. The immediate reason is, as most people would understand, because of shortage of vocations to the sisterhood. But on the other hand, this is in observance of Pope Benedict XV encyclical Maximum Illud – The missionaries’ primary duty is to educate the local people, and prepare them for leadership. Once this is done, they should recede and hand over.

It was an emotional moment, to see a few of the retired Sisters, who taught there, returned from their retirement home in Monrovia , California and Maryknoll in New York for this occasion, were enthusiastically embraced by their past student with great affection. One Sister, in wheelchair, was unable to come. She sent her taped message. It was received with endless applause.

After the opening address in the MPS hall, we were led by the student ambassadors to visit the schools in both primary and secondary schools. The delightful students were anxious to show us around. Although the Maryknoll Sisters have left some years ago, the Maryknoll spirit continues, just what Pope Benedict XV had wanted.

The lunch that followed was delicious and served with warmth. There were disappointments about the weather before the celebration began – it was an unusually cold, windy and rainy day for this season – but no one seems to feel it once the celebration began.

I am grateful to the opportunity to visit the Marymount Primary and Secondary School and it has increased my admiration for the missionary work. I pray that the spirit of Maryknoll will stay, and I pray that God will continue to bless these schools, their alumnae in Hong Kong, overseas, and specially those in the San Francisco Bay area. May they remain and continue to be together and continue their good work for the Lord, His Church and for the society.

By Magdalen Yum MSS 1976

After organizing the 6th Maryknoll Worldwide Reunion with Kathy Giannini MCS1960 in 2007, my hat off to the Steering Committee of the 7th Maryknoll Worldwide Reunion held from February 19 to 21, 2010 in Hong Kong. I do understand the hardwork that they had gone through. And it will not be successful with real love and passion for the school and the Maryknoll Sisters. It was a double happiness event as it was also the 85th Anniversary for Maryknoll Convent School. What blessed occasions!

Being a MSS graduate, I naturally will focus more on the homecoming visit of Marymount Primary School (MPS) and Marymount Secondary School (MSS. It is with mixed feelings that I visited the campuses where I spent most of my formation years.

Visit to MPS and MSS

February 19, 2010 was an extremely cold morning, it was around 9° C or 49 °F .A 23-seater bus was chartered to drive the 11 Maryknoll sisters from the King’s Park and the Boundary Street Convent to and fro MPS/MSS and MCS. The Sisters were:

Sister Betty Ann Maheu ,member of the MCS Council of the Foundation; now in New York.

We were also being graced by the presence of the Bishop Ignatius Wang of San Francisco who was visiting Hong Kong at that time and agreed to visit the two schools out of his busy schedule. Bishop Wang has been very supportive of the Maryknollers in the San Francisco Bay Area for many years. I have to thank Wisdom Tse MSS 1976 in driving Bishop Wang to MPS and MSS .

We arrived MPS at 9am which is one hour before the actual schedule. The reason was the road condition was excellent that day and we did not run into any rush hour traffic jam. Embarrassingly, being so early, we walked into the entrance of MPS and we were warmly welcome by the staff and the principal Julie Ma who was I am sure was in awe to see such early visitors. We were being chaperoned into a very nice conference room and was served tea and cakes.

MPS is a newly built building. The open architecture is really very nice. The image of Our Lady on the school wall is most impressive. At the entrance was also the former statue of our Lady with two students in the old white uniform with blue tie from the demolished MPS. Many of us spent a few minutes of reminiscence there. At around 10a.m.we were brought to the School Hall where student ambassadors from Primary 4 were waiting for us. Also by that time, some 80 Maryknoll alumnae also arrived together with some former MSS teachers namely Mr. Peter Wong, Miss Alice Cheung , Mrs. Julie Woo to name a few; Mrs. Nancy Wong , former principal of MSS also came.

A warm welcome ceremony was arranged. Firstly, we sang the Maryknoll Sister’s School song. What a touching moment! The MPS Vice Principal, Mrs. Molly Lim, represented the MSS Alunmnae Association Exco member Stella , who was not feeling well, to give an opening speech. Then the school supervisor Dr. Eadaoin Hui of the Christian Life Community (CLC) gave us a very sincere welcome which included a short account of the success of Marymount Primary and Secondary Schools. The legacy of the Maryknoll Sisters was well recognized. Sister Rose Duchesne‘s talk was very meaningful. She also mentioned those Maryknoll Sisters who were not able to come namely Sister Marylou Teufel, Sister Margaret Shepherd and Sister Virginia Flagg who are now in the Maryknoll Motherhouse and slides on them were shown on the screen. Mrs. Veronica Ma of MSS also gave a very warm welcome to all of us. We were later chaperoned to visit MPS and also there were beautiful violin recital by the primary students in the open playground. One highlight of the tour is to be able to see the newly finished chapel. It is elegant place of worship for the student and staff. The student ambassadors , primary four students, were dressed in different types of uniforms of MSS , including the “cheong sam” of the Holy Spirit School. I am really impressed by the details that principal of MPS Mrs.Julie Ma and the teachers had put into this open house.

After the MPS tour, we walked through a covered walkway that connects the MPS to MSS building. And I was back to a building which I know so well. Some of the Maryknoll Sisters who were with us were looking for the rooms they slept in and the classroom they taught at . It was such a reminiscing visit for them. Some of the alumnae took pictures in the classrooms. The MSS students ambassadors were very informative, polite and helpful. I wished I am studying at MSS again. The Geography room, the D.S. room gave me lots of memories. The library now is the former chapel, the music room was the former Biology lab. After the tour, we were invited to lunch at the School Hall. The food, the conversations, the laughter, souvenirs selling , the photo exhibit lead the visitors to the highlight of the day. All the good memories of the school and the present success of MSS are all God’s blessings. Maryknoll Sisters, we thank you.

The Gala Dinner

It is a spectacular event. The program were meticulously planned and produced.The welcoming lines of MCS primary students were most impressive and cute. We, Maryknollers are a blessed herd with so many talents given to us. Maryknollers excel in administrative, executive, creative and technical works and are also sincere, conscientious , graceful , passionate and loving people. Sister Jeanne Houlihan’s speech was inspiring. The MCS/MSS joint reunion will not be possible without the support and encouragement of Sister Jeanne and Sister Rose Duchesne. The entertainment program was very professionally done.I am especially overwhelmed by the lion dance of the primary students. What a delight to see such discipline and energy. Bravo!!!

Around a little over 100 Maryknoll Sisters School alumnae and former teachers came to the reunion dinner, the minority presence has not lessen the amount of joy , happiness and the MSS spirit. We sang our school song loud, clear and with pride. A number of us returned from overseas to join this meaningful occasion. Many interesting stories were shared. and I have made many MCS alumnae friends in the San Francisco Bay Area where I live. I experience such the real union of Maryknoll spirit. I always remember a Chinese saying that “when you are away from home, you depend on your friends”. Maryknollers support each other a lot when we are together. In California, the Maryknoll Alumnae Association is MSS and MCS combined association; one Maryknoll big family.

Reunions and anniversaries are always happy occasions and my heart felt thanks to the steering committee. What a great job they have done! And also to Our Lady of Maryknoll, thank you for your blessings.

 
 
The Maryknoll 7th Worldwide Reunion was one of the most memorable events of my life.

When I visited the School, not only were there major improvements to various facilities, I was most impressed with the young talents that the school is nurturing. Young girls in their 4th grade were given the opportunity to act as ambassadors to welcome the guests and conducted introductory tours of the school. Their communication and social skills were just remarkable.

As for the dinner event, it was very well organized and entertaining, especially the lion dances. Meeting and talking to sisters, teachers and classmates whom I have not seen for more than 30 years meant a lot to me as it brought back very fond memories of the past. The warmth and sense of belonging to the mother school made me feel so fortunate (and proud) that I am a Maryknoller!

Sister Ann Carol and I arrived in Hong Kong after being treated royally by Gloria Hsu, a MSS former student who was the hostess on our United flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong. By Friday, I was over the jet lag and attended the gathering at MCS where I met dozens of former students. On Sunday, we gathered together for a Mass celebrated by Fr. Marciano Baptista, S.J. (Marciano is a former student of MCS Primary School) held in the school auditorium.

It is difficult to note all the wonderful elements of the Banquet on Sunday evening. There was the spectacular setting of the Convention Centre overlooking the Harbour. More than 2200 attendees meant that one met many former students , but the visits were necessarily brief. The entertainment was provided by the talented primary school students and included a lion dance! There was a preview of Nancy Tong’s documentary on the work of the Maryknoll Sisters in Hong Kong. The evening came to an end all too soon.

The day after the Banquet, I left with four members of the class of 1960 and three stalwart husbands ,one MSS 1973 alumnae, one MCS 1962 alumnae , a total of 10, for a trip to Vietnam and Angkor Wat. It included a tour of Hanoi, a boat trip of the fascinating Haphong Harbour, a visit to the famous Angkor Wat temple, a tour of bustling Ho Chi Minh City and a memorable boat trip on the Mekong Delta. The climax was a surprise party for my anticipated March birthday.

I welcome the opportunity to write this inadequate account as it enables me to thank the many former students who sponsored my trip, gave me gifts and provided many happy occasions during my visit.

Sister Martha Bourne

Re: Mass and Annual Gathering
Place: 1335 Garden Lane, Menlo Park CA94025
Date: May 9, 2009 (Saturday)
Time: 10:30am - 3:30pm

Please join us at our annual meeting to be held on Saturday, May 9, 2009.

We are again honored to have the Most Revered Bishop Ignatius Wang officiate mass at 10:30am. Our former teachers, Sister Ann Carol Brielmaier and Sister Joan Delaney, will be with us. During this annual meeting there will be brief reports on the Association’s recent activities, and there will also be information regarding the forthcoming 7th Maryknoll Worldwide Reunion to be held in Hong Kong on February 19 to 21, 2010. Magdalen, who is on her way to Hong Kong, will bring back to us first hand news regarding the reunion.

As before, the lunch will be potluck. The main course and drinks will be provided. Please bring side dishes to share, such as noodles, rice dishes, tofu dishes, fruits or desserts. The luncheons have always been special, as everyone brought their favorite dish to share. Due to limited seating, if possible please bring your own folding chair. For our preparations, please let us know if you are planning to receive Holy Communion.

Please RSVP to Kathy Giannini kkgianni@aol.com or Magdalen Yum Magdalensf2@yahoo.com on or before May 1, 2009. For telephone enquiries contact Kathy at 1-925-906-9430 or Jane Chow Li at 1-650-591-9034. (Magdalen will be out of the country till April 18, 2009 and will only have email access).

We look forward to sharing this joyful occasion with you.

Maryknoll Alumnae Association, Northern California
www.mcsmsscalifornia.org

Maryknoll Sisters School, Hong Kong: Class of ‘78
mss78.no-ip.org

Maryknoll Alumnae Association, Ontario
mssalumnae.ca

Maryknoll Convent School, Ontario
www.mcsontario.org

Maryknoll Convent School Alumnae (B.C.) Association
www.mcsalumnibc.org

Maryknoll Convent School Alumnae Network
www.hello.to/maryknoll

Maryknoll Convent School Former Students’ Assoc. in Hong Kong
www.mcsfsa.com

Maryknoll Convent School, Hong Kong
www.mcs.edu.hk

Maryknoll Convent School Alumnae Association, New York
http://mcsnewyork.org

Mission Accomplished!!!

The Alumnae officers visited the Maryknoll Mother House in NY on Aug 31 2008. The purpose is to visit the retired teachers who are there. The events of the day are as follows:
1. Welcome reception
2. Lunch with Maryknoll Sisters at lunch room
3. Visit teacher who is bed ridden
4. Listen to a presentation on the renovation and fund raising project of Marykknoll

read more… (August 31st, 2008)

read more… (September 1st, 2008)