Raymond Finch, the Superior General of the Congregation of the Missionaries of Maryknoll, confirms that the male and female religious of the mission congregation have been severely affected by the corona pandemic. Worldwide the congregation has 288 priests spread all over the world, of which 123 reside in the mother house Maryknoll in New York. At the New York site, ten missionaries and three sisters have already died from the disease, several before they could be tested for corona infection. Recent tests in New York revealed that 15 male religious have been infected. The condition of three is alarming.
At the Missionary Sisters of Maryknoll three have died. Of the 352 sisters of our congregation, thirty sisters, along with ten staff members, have tested positive, says the superior general Antoinette Gutzler. The sick sisters have meanwhile been transferred to another location. For the first time in our history, we were unable to hold real Easter services. We can no longer gather in groups to pray.
The disease has also taken a toll on yet another congregation in the Bronx, New York Missionaries of Charity, the congregation founded by Mother Teresa. Two sisters died there, including a sister who founded the congregation together with Mother Teresa. Their funeral was attended by Cardinal on Saturday Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York. In his homily, he expressed his deep appreciation for the fact that, despite the pandemic, the sisters do not always keep their soup kitchens open in New York and still take care of the poor and the sick.
Source: Aleteia
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