I am not a Catholic, or a religious person, but I thought it would be fun to visit the Mary Knoll Seminary/Museum in Ossining, New York on Easter, to see what was going on. I didn’t intend to take part in Easter mass or anything(it was over by the time I got there), but this place also has a museum and the building itself is an architectural marvel.
It is 38 miles north of New York City, located in picturesque countryside on a large hill overlooking the Hudson river. It’s built like a giant Chinese pagoda since this particular seminary’s original focus was on training priests to be missionaries in east Asia.
Even the Biblical figures in their stained glass icons often have east Asian features.
The walls along this long corridor commemorates the many Catholic priests who died in the various wars and conflicts in east Asia in the early 20th century. It was interesting reading about all the Christian missionary activity in Pyongyang, which is now in North Korea. North Korea has one of the most atheistic and repressive governments in the world right now. All the efforts of Catholic and other Christian missionaries in North Korea have been effectively erased by the communist government. Its government is once again making threats; technically, North and South Korea are still at war, but it’s been a while since there’s been any violent flareups between the two. Let’s hope it stays that way.
A belated Happy Easter! (Unless you happen to be Eastern Orthodox).
AcroTrekker 