"Crowning the...estate now is the new Seminary, a sturdy building of native field stone roofed with green tiles. A tower rising in the center carries the Roman lines of the building to which has been added a touch of the Orient."
This news about the rise of the Seminary Building at Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers in Ossining, New York, was reported in a Maryknoll publication during 1926, more than 10 years after the new overseas mission society of the U.S. Church purchased the land that composed Sunset Hill. The building was crowned with a curved oriental roof to suggest the distant fields of the Society's apostolate, which began in China, and it was "topped by a radiant cross of copper."
Between this early period of construction and the completion of the Queen of Apostles Chapel that was dedicated during 1956, many unique internal and external adornments were incorporated into the building.
Exterior decorations on the building place focus on the main entrance. The stone mounted above the entrance archway was provided by the Catholic Women's Benevolent League. It reads Euntes docete omnes gentes ("Go Teach All Nations"), a phrase suggested by Reverend John Buckley of Delavan, Wisconsin, in a letter he sent to Maryknoll co-founder Father James A. Walsh. Father Buckley also included a $100 donation, and he requested that the money be used to place an appropriate inscription, his suggestion or another, above the building's entrance.
German-American sculptor Frank Leirich was invited to create the seated Christ the King statue along with decorations on the façade of the tower, including the keys of St. Peter, the sword and book of St. Paul and the dove representing the Holy Spirit.
Two Chinese-fretted red doors oversee the entrance. The rotunda just inside appears today much as it did upon completion of construction. The flagstone floor within comes from the old streets of New York City's East Side. At the center is a circle flanked by the Latin words Pax Intrantibus, Salus Exeuntibus – "Peace to those entering; health to those going forth." Just beyond the rotunda is a small marble statue of Our Lady, to whom co-founder Father Thomas F. Price was devoted and for whom Maryknoll is named.
The main wing corridor of the building is known as the Hall of Martyrs. Portraits of Maryknoll priests killed while serving in mission are included in this place of honor. The opposite wall portrays each class of Maryknoll priests and Brothers from the first class of 1911 to today. The photos are spaced among the large windows that overlook a panorama with the Hudson River in the background.
The alcove midway along the main wing of the building is dedicated to Father James A. Walsh and co-founder Father Thomas F. Price. Photographs, letters and mementos tell the story of Maryknoll's early years while the Chinese-inspired stained-glass window depicts St. Peter and St. Paul with the Madonna and Child. The accompanying Chinese inscription reads "Mary, pray for me."
The library on the second floor contains extensive religious and scholarly works. A large skylight allows outside light to illuminate those who are there to conduct research or study. The remainder of the ceiling, though plastered, was finished to imitate Japanese cherry-wood. A collage of colors—gold, red, green, blue and others—such as one might see in an oriental pagoda, runs across the ceiling and down the pillars positioned on both sides of the book stacks.
Maryknoll's Departure Bell and Statue
Outside and beyond the lower cloister located below the main floor reside Maryknoll's departure bell and the Our Lady of Maryknoll statue.
The 17th century departure bell was a gift to Father Walsh from a missioner in Japan. The bell, which hung in a Buddhist temple destroyed by fire, arrived at Maryknoll during 1918. It was rung as the first missioners departed for China.
The stature of Our Lady of Maryknoll was a gift from a Maryknoll benefactor during the early years. Father Walsh considered many designs for the statue before deciding upon the one submitted by an artist through the building's architects. The statue was carved by Giacomo Mussner of Ortisei, Italy. It resides in a kiosk designed by the architects and built by Maryknoll's Brothers and seminarians under the supervision of Brother Albert Staubli.
Maryknoll Chapels and Museum
The three more recent additions to the Maryknoll Seminary Building are the Queen of Apostles Chapel, the Lady Chapel and the Museum of Living Mission.
Dedicated to Mary under her missionary title, the Queen of Apostles Chapel is Romanesque in design. The walls are of Mankato limestone from Minnesota, while the sanctuary wall is of forest green marble with the floor green and purple Vermont slate. The Altar of Reserve is made of Botticino marble and contains holy relics of St. Clarus and St. Aurea.
The inscription Comus Mea Domus Orationis Vocabitur Omnibus Gentibus ("My House Shall Be Called a House of Prayer for All Nations") adorns the east wall of the chapel. The adjoining Lady Chapel is dedicated to the Queen of Martyrs and has three altars dedicated to the Stabat Mater (13th century hymn to Mary), the Sacred Heart and to St. Joseph.
The Museum of Living Mission, at the end of the main wing and in the rear of the building, includes interactive exhibits from the lands in the world where Maryknoll serves and it offers opportunities for prayer, dialogue and action to serve people around the world.
Visitors can create an Ema prayer plaque, a Japanese tradition at Shinto shrines to convey a thought or prayer for oneself or others, or contribute to the origami crane peace shrine. The museum also showcases how people throughout the Maryknoll world celebrate their culture and their faith, and it permits people to contemplate the world's hungry and how to become engaged to help them through prayer and actions.
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Next: Maryknoll's first mission in China.
