Paulist Fathers

The Paulist Fathers were the first religious community of priests (as distinct from other religious communities) created in North America. Another community of priests, the Séminaire de Québec, had been set up in 1663. The Paulists additionally have ministries of ecumenism, interfaith relations, and reconciliation. The Paulists seek to be a bridge between contemporary culture and Catholicism, using media to accomplish this, beginning with the founding of Catholic World magazine in 1865, and continuing with the Paulist Press and its ministries in radio, film, and on the Internet.

Because the Paulist Fathers' primary mission has been the conversion of the American people and society, almost all of its foundations (as Paulist centers of ministry are called) and priests are located in the USA. There are Paulist Foundations in 11 U.S. states and Washington, D.C.[2] They also serve the American Catholic community in Rome at San Patrizio (which replaced a former foundation at Santa Susanna in August 2017),[3] and, until June 2015,[4] maintained foundations in Toronto.

Founder Isaac Hecker, circa 1887

Servant of God Isaac Hecker was a Priest of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists), as were all the founding members of the Paulists. Following their conversion to Catholicism, they wanted to create an institute of priests that could evangelize to the people of North America in ways that would be more effective than the previous methods. Hecker’s notion of what constituted ‘more effective’ means or techniques of evangelization brought him into conflict with the leadership of the Redemptorist community, which ultimately resulted in him being expelled. Hecker was supported by Redemptorist Fathers George Deshon, Augustine Hewit, Francis Baker, and Clarence Walworth, who were themselves converts to Catholicism from the Episcopal Church and were influenced significantly by the Oxford Movement. Hecker and his companions were soon after dispensed from their Redemptorist vows and were granted permission to found the Paulist Fathers in 1858 as the Missionary Priests of Saint Paul the Apostle, in honor of Paul of Tarsus, by Pope Pius IX.

The Paulists got their start in the Archdiocese of New York, establishing their headquarters in a parish on 59th Street appropriately named Church of St. Paul the Apostle, granted them by John Hughes. Hecker, who was also known as "The Yellow Dart," conceived the Paulists to be a smaller community with a specific missionary focus. From their headquarters in New York City, they began their task of performing missionary work to non-Catholics. With the outbreak of the American Civil War the northern-based Paulists were compelled to cancel their southern missions.

Archbishop Hughes appealed to West Point graduate George Deshon to serve as a chaplain to a New York Brigade, but given that the Paulists were a newly created community and were so few in number, Father Deshon declined. During the New York Draft Riots of 1863 the Paulists attempted to dissuade people from violence, but only marginally succeed as efforts were hampered when Father Augustine Hewit was wounded in such an effort.

In 1866, under Hecker's guidance, the Paulist Press was created, adding the written word to the Paulist mission. In 1870, a magazine for Catholic youth, The Young Catholic, was also created. In 1875, the first Paulist missionaries set sail for California; other missions quickly followed in Rhode Island, Kentucky, Michigan, and as far north as Quebec. In 1925, they established WLWL, their own radio station in New York. Around 1935, the Paulists outfitted motor trailers as chapels and began a series of missions to rural areas such in states such as South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah.

Paulists at work

The Paulist Fathers work as missionaries in the United States. The Society created the Paulist Associate program for lay people who wish to associate themselves with the Paulists. The Paulists are a society of apostolic life, meaning they do not make religious vows; rather, by means of promises they are supposed to pursue their mission through living in community.

The Paulists are not immune from wider religious trends and have experienced a large decline in their community membership over the past 50 years. As of 2017, the Paulists have 120 members in total. 107 members of the society are priests and another 13 are non-priest male religious. In 1967 the Paulists had a total membership of 306, with 261 priests. This represents a priestly decline of 61% over the last 50 years.[5] Even though most Catholic religious orders have seen a membership decline over the past half-century, the Paulists' decline is particularly notable.

In addition to serving as parish priests at their Foundations, the Paulists continue evangelization by means of the Paulist National Catholic Evangelization Association, National Offices, publishing and film companies as well as Paulist Mission Preachers. As of 2015 the Society had 20 priests listed as available for missions. The form the missions take is largely dependent on which Paulist is giving it; the Paulists emphasise individuality, and each Paulist presents his message in his own way. The Paulists have also relatively recently created National Offices to head up some of their more important ministries.

The Paulist Office for Reconciliation is a ministry for Catholics who feel alienated or outside of the community. The office seeks to create processes, resource materials, forums, and leaders to recruit these people into the Church.

The Paulist National Office of Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations has the mission of fostering understanding, respect, and collaboration with members of other religions. The office was initially created as a means of updating and educating Paulists in these two fields as to how to go about integrating initiatives locally, but later adopted the additional role of offering consultative visits at campuses, parishes, retreats, and conferences. The office also maintains a newsletter and provides articles and resources for online ministries.

The Paulist Office for Young Adult Ministries is intended to connect young adults to faith communities. The office seeks to promote youth integration and leadership amongst Christian communities, and to see issues and concerns of youth addressed by Church leaders and organizations. This Paulist ministry has many forms such as Busted Halo which is an online spiritual magazine for peoples in their 20s and 30s; the Busted Halo Show, with Father Dave Dwyer, CSP, was picked up by the Catholic Channel on Sirius Satellite Radio. The office also hosts young adult retreats and, on occasion, hosts forums and gives presentations. Paulists also have a number of Newman Centers and campus ministries at several major universities throughout the United States; they consider this one of their highest priorities.

The Paulist Press, based in Mahwah, NJ, publishes relevant materials. It is a well-established publisher of hardcover and paperback books, audio and visual tapes, DVDs, and educational materials and resources for parishes. It publishes the Classics of Western Spirituality series. Paulist Press also maintains an online journal, founded by Father Hecker, called The Catholic World, which is a collection of articles on faith and culture.

Built in 1928, since the 1960s this has been the home of Paulist Productions

Paulist Productions was founded by Father Ellwood Kieser, CSP, in California around 1960. It today creates films and television programs on a variety of subjects with spiritual concerns and matters at the heart of the production. Paulist Productions has received a number of awards and continues to develop and produce an assortment of films and series. It has produced Romero, Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story, and The Twelve Apostles.

The President, Vice-President, and Council of the Paulist Fathers are elected to four-year terms; in addition, a First Consultor is appointed by the President. Eric Andrews, C.S.P. succeeded Michael McGarry, C.S.P. as president in May 2014.[6]

Training to become a Paulist priest is similar to religious institutes. The Society is open to single Catholic men with an undergraduate degree that are in good standing with the Church. Training consists of three phases that takes usually 6 years to complete. The first phase is a year-long novitiate, designed to introduce the individual to Paulist life and to help them decide if the Paulist life is for them. The next phase consists of two years of philosophical and theological studies, followed by a one-year apostolate at a Paulist Foundation. On return from his apostolate, he returns to school for two more years and, if successful, will be awarded a Master of Divinity degree. The Paulist Seminary and Novitiate is located at St. Paul's College in Washington, DC, and in recent years Paulist students had a choice of attending either the Catholic University of America or the Washington Theological Union (now closed). Near the end of his studies, the Society then decides whether he will proceed to ordination to the diaconate. Once a Deacon, the last phase of formation is a year-long pastoral internship, at the end of which the individual is ordained a priest in the Missionary Society of Saint Paul the Apostle.

Patrons of the Paulist Fathers include the Virgin Mary, St. Paul the Apostle, St. Joseph, St. Alphonsus Liguori, St. Francis de Sales, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Patrick, St. Philip Neri, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Mary Magdalene and St. Elizabeth Seton.

• Catholic World
• Consecrated life
• Institutes of consecrated life
• Orestes Brownson
• Religious institute (Catholic)
• Secular institute
• Vocational Discernment in the Catholic Church
• Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit

Specific citations

General references

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paulists.

• Official website
• Paulist Productions
• Paulist Press
• Paulist National Catholic Evangelization Association
• Bustedhalo
• Catholic Encyclopedia article