Contact: Mike Virgintino, Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, 914-941-7636 ext 2219

MARYKNOLL, N.Y., Oct. 25, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, the foreign mission society of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States founded during 1911, will celebrate a Centennial Mass of Thanksgiving at New York's Cathedral of Saint Patrick on Sunday afternoon, October 30, at 2 p.m. EDT. The Maryknoll Mass of Thanksgiving can be viewed live online at www.livestream.com/maryknoll.

More than 2,000 Society members, clergy, friends and donors will gather in New York City to give thanks for all Maryknollers, benefactors and friends past and present who have helped proclaim the Gospel to all nations.

The principal celebrant and homilist for the Mass of Thanksgiving will be His Eminence Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, Archbishop Emeritus of the Washington Archdiocese. Many Maryknoll priests and other guest priests will concelebrate the Mass. Altar servers will be Maryknoll Brother candidates and seminarians.

The Mass for the centennial year (Missas ad Gentes - Mass to the Peoples) was composed specifically for Maryknoll by Father Jan Michael Joncas, liturgical theologian and composer of contemporary Catholic music that includes On Eagle's Wings. The musicians and the Maryknoll Choir of Maryknoll Fathers, Brothers, Sisters, Lay Missioners, employees, neighbors and friends is under the direction of music director and conductor Lucille Naughton.

The celebration will begin with a procession of flags, led by the U.S. and Papal flags, from all the countries served by the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers during its first 100 years.

The procession of flags will be followed by the processional cross, carried during all major liturgical celebrations, that was created for Maryknoll during 2000. The back of the cross contains relics of the Maryknoll Society Founders -- Bishop James A. Walsh and Father Thomas F. Price -- and of Mother Mary Joseph, the Foundress of the Maryknoll Sisters' Congregation. The cross also contains relics of Maryknoll Brother Aloysius Moliner and Maryknoll Lay Missioner Joseph Honerkamp. Placed together, the relics call to mind the shared goal of all the Maryknoll entities to proclaim the Gospel to all people.

Among the special guests participating in the Mass will be the people representing the various lands served by Maryknoll. They will offer the Prayers of the Faithful in their native languages of Hakka, English, Quechua, Spanish, Swahili and Taiwanese. The Presentation of the Gifts will include rice that represents Asia, corn from the Americas, cassava from Africa and the intentions of Maryknoll benefactors.

Representatives of the Walsh and Price families will be among the gift bearers. Timothy Heffernan and Shelia Clark, who are related to co-founder Bishop James A. Walsh, will present The Presider's Chalice. The chalice was given to Bishop Walsh when he was ordained bishop on June 29, 1933. Carl and Gloria Price, who are related to co-founder Father Thomas F. Price, will present Father Price's Mission Cross. The Presider's Chalice and the Mission Cross will be used during the celebration.

Earlier this year, in a letter from the Secretariat of State, the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, expressed his prayerful good wishes to Maryknoll: "His Holiness willingly joins the whole Maryknoll Family in recalling the profound zeal for the spread of the Gospel and the growth of the Church which inspired Fathers James A. Walsh and Thomas F. Price to establish the Society in 1911. The vision of the founders bore fruit not only in an impressive missionary expansion in Asia, Latin America and Africa, but also in a remarkable awakening of concern for the Church's mission ad gentes among generations of Catholics in the United States."

The Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers follow Jesus in serving the poor and others in need in 28 countries that include the U.S. All Catholics are called to mission through baptism, and Maryknoll's mission education outreach in parishes and schools throughout the country engages U.S. Catholics in mission through vocations, prayer, donations and as volunteers.

During 2011, the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers is commemorating its centennial with a theme of The Gift of Mission -- The Maryknoll Journey. These missionaries will celebrate as they continue their journey into the next 100 years to share God's love and the Gospel in combating poverty, providing healthcare, building communities and promoting human rights. For more information, visit maryknollsociety.org.