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25 Missionary Monuments


N.B.: This web page is incomplete.

N.B.: Arranged by date of monument dediction -- not by date of historic events. | Click here for notable peacemaker missionaries. | Click here for notable Christian crosses. | Click here for churches & temples.

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May 1605 - Basilica do Bom Jesus, Old Goa, Goa (India). A UNESCO World Heritage Site. In Old Goa, the capital of Goa in the early days of Portuguese rule. 'Bom Jesus' (literally, 'Good (or Holy) Jesus') is the name used for the Ecce Homo in the countries of Portuguese colonization. The Jesuit church is India’s first minor basilica & is considered to be one of the best examples of baroque architecture in India... It is more than 408 years old & is open to the public every day... Construction work began in 1594, & the church was consecrated in May 1605... /// It contains the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier [1506-1552], a very close friend of St. Ignatius Loyola with whom he founded the Society of Jesus, the (Jesuits) in 1534. Francis Xavier died on Shangchuan Island (China) while en route to continental China. His body was first taken to Portuguese Malacca & two years later shipped back to Goa..." /// Francis Xavier worked two years in Japan. He is called "Apostle of the Indies" & "Apostle of Japan.” CHURCH STATUE INDIA


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1853 - Talitha Kumi, King George Street, West Jerusalem (Israel). "The first school of girls in Jerusalem was given the name Talitha Kumi. That's an Aramaic term that occurs in Mark 5:41: When Jesus encountered a twelve-year old girl at the moment of death, he took her hand and said, 'Little girl, arise.' The name positioned below the clock and above an arch announced to all that education for young girls was important. The first Lutheran Missionaries came from a small village on the Rhine River of Germany called Kaiserswerth, where there was a school of Deaconesses. Their most famous graduate in 1853 was Florence Nightengale [1820-1910]. But three others came to Jerusalem that same year to establish Talitha Kumi. After the 1948 war, the school was demolished to make room for a new department store. Yet thousands of cars [still] drive by each day to see the arch with its clock & the words Talitha Kumi, left as a monument of earliers days. Talitha Kumi, however, did not die, but a new school was built in the West Bank town of Beit Jala [lower left image] -- now one of the top coed schools in the country, where Christians & Muslims study side by side, learning respect for each other's faith, & enhancing their academic work with strong programs in music, environmental education & peace studies." SCHOOL ARCH ISRAEL


July 28, 1867 - Haystack Monument, Mission Park, Mission Park Road, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts (USA). Commemorates the "Haystack Prayer Meeting" in August 1806 which is reputed to have started the American foreign missionary movement. Inscribed "The Field is the World." Engraving (made about 1871) is entitled "Birthplace of American missions." Sepia photo taken about 1890. SPHERE MASSACHUSETTS

After 1871 - Pierre de Livingstone et Stanley / Livingstone-Stanley Monument, Mugere (Burundi). "12 km south of the capital Bujumbura, overlooking Lake Tanganyika. Marks location where explorer & missionary Dr. David Livingstone [1813-1973] and journalist and explorer Henry Morton Stanley [1841-1904] visited and spent two nights on 25-27 November 1871." STONE BURUNDI


October 12, 1892 - Statue of Bartolomé de Las Casas, Guatemala City (Guatemala). "En su átreo se encuentra un monumento a Fray Bartolomé de las casas con una placa conmemorativa que del 12 de octubre de 1892." /// Bartolome de las Casas [c1484-1566] was an historian, social reformer, Dominican friar & the first officially appointed "Protector of the Indians." STATUE AMERINDIANS GUATEMALA

After 1894 - Grave of Ranald MacDonald [1824-1894], Toroda, Ferry County, Washington (USA). With rocks from Rishiri Island. off the coast of Hokkaido (Japan). GRAVE STONE WASHINGTON
Date? - Monument to Ranald MacDonald, Astoria, Oregon (USA). Japanese language monument at birthplace of Ranald McDonald [1824-1894]. OREGON
Date? - Monument to Ranald MacDonald, Nagasaki (Japan). Ranald MacDonald was first American to willingly go to Japan [in 1848] & 1st first person to teach English there. JAPAN
Date? - Monument to Ranald MacDonald, Rishiri Island, Hokkaido Prefecture (Japan). JAPAN


1918 - "Departure Bell," Maryknoll Mission Seminary, Ossining, New York (USA). "Every year for the past 90 years, Maryknoll has celebrated the sending of our Fathers and Brothers to foreign mission. Departure Day is our enduring tradition." What is the origin of this Asian bell? BELL NEW_YORK


1927 - Japanese Friendship Dolls, in museums all over the USA. Dr. Sidney Gulick [1860-1945], a missionary & lecturer at Kyoto Imperial University, obtained more than 12,000 American “blue-eyed dolls” for Japanese children. Fifty-eight prefectures replied by sending museum quality Japanese dolls to America. Many were hidden during World War II, but most were found, restored & put back on display. (Illustrated are Miss Okayama in North Dakota & Miss Toyama in Kentucky.) DOLL JAPAN

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Date? - Memorial to Michael Sattler, B28 highway, near Rottenburg am Neckar (Germany). Plaque on a crude roadside boulder. Michael Sattler [c1490-1527] left the Roman Catholic Church during the Protestant Reformation to become one of the early leaders of the Anabaptist movement. He was involved in missionary activity around Rottenburg and Horb [25 km west] & eventually traveled to Strasbourg. In February 1527 he chaired a meeting of the Swiss Brethren at Schleitheim, at which time the Schleitheim Confession was adopted. In May 1527, Sattler was arrested by Roman Catholic authorities, along with his wife & several other Anabaptists. He was tried, sentenced and executed as a heretic." STONE GERMANY

July 3, 1939 - New York State Peace Memorial to Isaac Jogues, Lake George Battlefield Park, Lake George, New York (USA). Born in Orléans (France),"Isaac Jogues [1607-1646] was a Jesuit priest, missionary & martyr who traveled & worked among the native populations in North America. He gave the original European name to Lake George, calling it Lac du Saint Sacrement / Lake of the Blessed Sacrament. In 1646, Jogues was martyred by the Mohawks near present day Auriesville, New York. Jogues, Jean de Brébeuf & six other martyred missionaries, all Jesuits or laymen associated with them, were canonized in 1930, and are known as 'The North American Martyrs' or 'St. Isaac Jogues & Companions.'" 1 of 40 monuments in "Peace Symbols" by Zonia Baber (1948), pp. 56-57. STATUE NEW_YORK


July 23, 1955 - Pere Jacques Marquette Memorial Shrine, Ludington, Michigan (USA). On Lake Michigan. Jacques Marquette [1637-1675] was a "famous Jesuit Missionary-Explorer... He came as a missionary to Québec, Sept. 20, 1666, learning the Indian languages & customs. In 1668 he founded the first mission at Sault Ste. Marie. Working among & Christianizing the Indians around the Straits of Mackinac. June 17, 1673, with Louis Joliet [1645-c1700], he discovered the upper Mississippi, then the river of mystery. They explored the Mississippi south to the mouth of the Arkansas. Endeavoring to found a mission among the Illinois Indians, he spent the winter of 1674-75 on the banks of the Chicago River. Due to impaired health, he was returning to St. Ignace via the east shore of Lake Michigan when his condition worsened & he died at this spot. Two years later an Indian cortege came from St. Ignace, taking his remains back for burial." CROSS AMERINDIANS MICHIGAN


June 26, 1956 - Hôpital Albert Schweitzer (HAS), Deschapelles, Artibonite Valley (Haiti). "In 1947, Larry Mellon [1910-1989] & Gwen Grant Mellon were operating a large cattle ranch with their four children in Arizona (USA). Inspired by an article in Life Magazine about the humanitarian work in Africa of Dr. Albert Schweitzer [1875-1965], they started a correspondence with Dr. Schweitzer which endured until his death in 1969 [sic]. HOSPITAL NOBEL HAITI

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1967 - Musée Albert Schweitzer / Albert Schweitzer Museum, 8 route de Munster, Gunsbach, Département de Haut-Rhin, Alsace (France). Operated by the Centre Internationale Albert Schweitzer. "Albert Schweitzer [1875-1965] fit construire cette maison en 1928 avec l'argent du Prix Goethe de la ville de Francfort." Schweitzer received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952. 1952 HOUSE MUSEUM NOBEL FRANCE


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Date? - Statue of Albert Schweitzer, Buchenwaldplatz, Weimer (Germany). "The first statue in the world of German humanist Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) was erected in the East German era on behalf of the Christian Democrats. Weimar was chosen (as well as for the Albert Schweitzer Memorial and Social Centre) by the Albert Schweitzer Committee since Albert Schweitzer’s personality & life had been characterised by humanity." STATUE NOBEL GERMANY

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Date? - Monument, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales (Australia). MONUMENT NOBEL AUSTRALIA


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1969 - Monument d'Albert Schweitzer / Albert Schweitzer Monument, Le Kanzrain, Gunsbach, Alsace (France). "A cinq minutes à pied de la maison se trouve le Kanzrain, un rocher du haut duquel on jouit d'une magnifique vue sur la vallée de Munster. C'est là qu'a été érigé, en 1969 le monument que le disciple de Rodin, Fritz Behn a taillé dans la pierre rouge des Vosges. En 1958, Albert Schweitzer [1875-1965] écrit à ce sujet : "C'est la-haut que taillé dans la pierre, je voudrais pouvoir accueillir mes amis, c'est la qu'ils voudront bien avoir une pensée pour moi et écouter le murmure de la rivière qui a, si souvent, accompagné le vol de mes pensées. C'est la qu'est née ma philosophie culturelle, c'est la que j'ai compris Jésus en son temps. C'est la que je me sentais totalement chez moi." 1952 STATUE NOBEL FRANCE


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Date? - Sentier Albert Schweitzer / Albert Schweitzer Footpath, Gunsbach, Alsace (France). "A footpath for walking and meditating about the thought of Albert Schweitzer [1875-1965] . It starts at the old presbytery, 3 rue du docteur Albert Schweitzer, and leads us across the village of Gunsback to the Albert Schweitzer house [museum], 8 route de Munster, passing by the rock of Kanzrain. It is lined with 16 panels [in German & French], which recall important moments in the life of the doctor. The whole route is approximately 920 m, the walking time takes about one hour." 1952 TRAIL NOBEL FRANCE

1981 - Musée Albert Schweitzer / Albert Schweitzer Museum, 126, rue du Général de Gaulle, Kaysersberg, Alsace (France). "Ce lieu présente l'œuvre hospitalière du docteur à Lambaréné (Gabon) de 1913 à nos jours. " Next door to Schweitzer's birthplace. Albert Schweitzer [1875-1965] received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952. 1952 HOUSE MUSEUM NOBEL FRANCE


October 29, 1989 - Peace Pole," Miami Memorial Peace Garden, Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters (OLVM), Victory Noll Center, 1900 West Park Drive, Huntington, Indiana (USA). Honors the Miami Indians "who once claimed Indiana as their homeland." "As you walk toward the cemetery past the garage, visit our...Miami Memorial Peace Pole. This pole was carved from a large blue spruce Sr. Mary Joan Ginsterblum, OLVM, from a large blue spruce topped during a wind storm. Base of the pole depicts the Wabash River with fish & cattails. The leaves of the oak, tulip & sycamore trees & the grapevine are all native plants. The turtles, otter tails (thin diamond shapes around the top) & the head and neck of the crane are clan & tribal symbols. The peace prayer is in English & Spanish. PEHKOKIA (the Miami word for peace) is inscribed around the top of the pole. The rock on top of the pole was found on the grounds of Victory Noll." POLE GARDEN AMERINDIANS INDIANA

December 13, 2000 - Minnie Vautrin Memorial, Ginling Girls College, Nanjing (China). Minnie Vautrin [1886-1941], was an American missionary renowned for saving the lives of many women during the Nanjing Massacre. Click here for chronology of Ginling College & Minnie Vautrin. BUST COLLEGE CHINA
Date? - Minnie Vautrin Memorial, Secor Community Building, Secor, Illinois (USA). Bench & plaque memorializing Minnie Vautrin [1886-1941], an American missionary born in Secor, IL (population 379). Renowned for saving the lives of many women at the Ginling Girls College in Nanking, China, during the Nanjing Massacre. PLAQUE ILLINOIS

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2002 - Shrine of the Martyrs of Our Time, Church of St. Bartholomew, Tiberina Islet, Tiber River, central Rome (Italy). "The shrine was a project entrusted by Pope John Paul II to Sant'Egidio during the Jubilee Year 2000 and was inaugurated in 2002. Today, the Basilica of St. Bartholomew has custody of the 'memory & remains of many witnesses for Christ in our time.' Among them: Bishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero of Nicaragua (martyred while saying Mass), Mexican Cardinal Posadas Ocampo (killed by drug traffickers in Guadalajara airport), evangelical pastor Paul Schneider, Austrian layman Franz Jagerstatter (who opposed Nazism), Romaninian monk & spiritual guide Sofian Boghiu (who opposed the the totalitarian Communist regime), Fr. Andrea Santoro (Roman priest martyred in Turkey), French priest André Jarlan (who died in Chile as a missionary among the poor), & the Poor Clare sisters of Bergamo (who served in Africa & perished from the Ebola virus while caring for stricken patients). SHRINE ITALY


2005 - Memorial Cairn, between Dunscore Kirk & the village graveyard, Dunscore, Dumfries & Galloway (Scotland). Memorializes Jane Haining [1897-1944], Church of Scotland missionary, who worked with Jewish children in Budapest (Hungary) & was killed at Auschwitz (one of only ten Holocaust victims from Scotland.) CAIRN HOLOCAUST SCOTLAND

August 2013 - De Smet Monument, Good Shepherd Parish, Center & 1st West Streets, Soda Springs, Idaho (USA). "An historical monument to the famous explorer, missionary, peacemaker & Jesuit priest, Father Pierre-Jean De Smet [1801-1873]. Commemorates the arrival of Father De Smet (from St. Louis) & the first emigrant wagon train on the Oregon Trail (the Bidwell-Bartleson party) in Soda Springs on August 10, 1841. He is recognized for his important role in traveling & describing the West in his writings, sketches & maps, and his relationship as a missionary & peacemaker with the Indian tribes of the West. The monument consists of a bronze bust of Father De Smet mounted on a concrete & granite pedestal & surrounded by four historical interpretive signs, landscaping & park benches." BUST IDAHO

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