Excerpt from The Memoirs of Monsignor William Francis O'brien

A few months after the Co-founders of the Maryknoll American Foreign Missionary Society, Bishop James Anthony Walsh of the Archdiocese of Boston and Thomas Frederick Price of the Vicariate of North Carolina, received the hearty approval and papal blessing of Pius X, for the establishment of the American Foreign Missionary Society, I made a visit to the Maryknoll Founders' headquarters, then temporarily located in Hawthorne, New York. On the occasion of that visit, Father Price, who was my elder associate on the non Catholic North Carolina missions, lost no time in inviting me to speak to the first class, made up of Maryknoll students from several states, as future prospective missionaries of foreign lands. The future Bishop Ford, a martyr in China, was a member of that class. In my informal talk, to that interesting and distinguished class, I emphasized the peculiar fact that the missionary of non Catholics in North Carolina seldom realized any results of his work. In his comments, Father Price said to the class that it was a fact that a North Carolina missionary seldom realized, humanly speaking, any immediate results of his activity, but that I had realized some results, but not too much, as I had established a school. After the class time was over, one of the students came to me and said: Father, China for me. Yes, you know I am naturally interested in your desire to be a missionary in China, but would you mind telling me the basic reason, humanly speaking, why you wish to go to China? Without hesitation, he said: Father I wish to go to China to see some results in my work. A second student came to me and said: Father, I do not see why we have to go to China when there are such places as you have described, in the United States. In other words, the conclusion can be drawn that sacrificing mission work is needed in the whole universal vineyard of Christ in the wide-world. As ideal missions exist for zealous and sacrificing priests, abroad, so there are ideal missions existing for zealous and sacrificing priests at home. Missionary work is missionary work, whether in foreign lands or home lands. The harvest is ripe, but the laborers are few, pray ye, the Lord of the harvest that He sends laborers into His Vineyard, whether in foreign lands or at our very doors.

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