Saint Joseph's Missionary Society of Mill Hill

Saint Joseph's Missionary Society of Mill Hill

Abbreviation | MHM |
---|---|
Motto | Amare et Servire |
Formation | August 15, 1866 (1866-08-15) |
Type | Catholic religious society |
Headquarters | Maidenhead, England |
Key people | Herbert Cardinal Vaughan, founder |
Website | www.millhillmissionaries.com [17] |
Saint Joseph's Society for Foreign Missions, also called the Mill Hill Missionaries or Mill Hill Fathers, is a society of apostolic life of Catholic missionaries.
Abbreviation | MHM |
---|---|
Motto | Amare et Servire |
Formation | August 15, 1866 (1866-08-15) |
Type | Catholic religious society |
Headquarters | Maidenhead, England |
Key people | Herbert Cardinal Vaughan, founder |
Website | www.millhillmissionaries.com [17] |
History
The society was formerly based at St Joseph's College at Mill Hill in north London.[3] The late 1960s saw the development of the Missionary Institute of London, to consolidate training facilities for the various mission societies in Britain. St Joseph's College site was closed in 2006.[4] Its present headquarters are at 6 Colby Gardens in Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 7GZ.
In 1884 St Peter’s School, Freshfield, near Liverpool was founded to serve as a preparatory school to the college.[5]
During the Second World War the college was evacuated to Lochwinnoch in Scotland. The war ministry then requisitioned part of the buildings for the use of the civil service. So, the college at Mill Hill was effectively closed for the duration of the war. In the 1960s, Pope John XXIII asked missionary societies to become involved in South America. As of 2019, the Mill Hill Missionaries are active in Brazil and Ecuador.
On its 150th anniversary, an account of its history on the Diocese of Westminster website said in part: "At the 1988 Chapter, with representatives from all over the Mill Hill world present, a decision was taken to recruit Mill Hill Missionaries from Africa and Asia, our former mission areas, now flourishing with well-established churches planted and grown by Mill Hill Missionaries." There are now Mill Hill Society formation centres in Cameroon, East Africa, Philippines and India.[6]
As of 2014, the congregation has forty priests working within Ireland, and twenty working internationally, with an average age of 73.[7]
Abuse accusations
Between 1975 and 2014 the congregation received 13 abuse of children involving eight priests.[7]
A 2011 RTE television program investigating child abuse examined two of these case in detail. In one instance, RTE falsely claimed that Fr. Kevin Reynolds had raped a girl and fathered her child while living in Africa as a Mill Hill missionary. The claim was later debunked and Reynolds was found innocent.[8] Following paternity tests, RTE retracted its claims and fully apologized to Reynolds.[9][10]
Superiors general
Prelates from their ranks
- Alive
Colin Cameron Davies, Bishop Emeritus, Diocese of Ngong, Kenya
Cornelius Schilder, Bishop Emeritus of Ngong, Kenya
See also
Alice Ingham