Newberry Seminar on Religion and Culture in the Americas Seminar with Hannah Ontiveros

“Catgut in God’s Hands”: The Maryknoll Sisters’ Korean Mission and Gendered Foreign Policy: 1950-1960

Hannah Ontiveros, Lecturer of History, Binghamton University

“Catgut in God’s Hands” examines the Maryknoll Sisters’ mission to Korea in the 1950s. Utilizing the records of the Maryknoll Sisters, publicity materials from the Catholic order, and UN records on voluntary aid organizations, this chapter underlines the vital role of religious organizations in articulating the United States’ role in Korea. As this paper argues, the Sisters intertwined their goal of spreading American benevolence with their emerging Catholic vision of human rights: the Sisters worked toward their own ends as well as those of their home country. Moreover, the Sisters had an outsized impact on long-term state-building projects.

Commentator: Kate Moran, Saint Louis University

This event is free, but all participants must register in advance. Space is limited, so please do not request a paper unless you plan to attend.