Mary Joseph Rogers

Mother Mary Joseph Rogers (October 27, 1882 – October 9, 1955) was the founder of the Maryknoll Sisters, the first congregation of Catholic women to organize a global mission in the United States. Rogers attended Smith College and was inspired in 1904 by graduating Protestant students preparing to leave for missionary work in China. After her graduation, she returned to the school and founded a mission club for Catholic students in 1905. While organizing the club, she met Father James A. Walsh, director of Boston’s Office for the Propagation of the Faith, later founder of Maryknoll Fathers & Brothers, through whom she was inspired to establish a mission congregation for women. Rogers moved to Boston in 1908 to teach at public schools and attend the Boston Normal School. The Maryknoll Sisters were founded in 1912. By 1955, the Maryknoll Sisters had over 1000 sisters working in some twenty countries.