BECOMING A PAULIST FATHER
Is God Calling Me?
How do you discern the call of God?
Encountering God
Body and description
With Prayer
Body and description
In Community
Body and description
Faithful to the example of our patron, St. Paul, who was the Apostle to the Gentiles, and to the example of Servant of God Isaac Hecker, who sought to evangelize America with a view primarily to those outside the Catholic Church, the Paulist Fathers are committed to encountering, accompanying, and entering into dialogue with the other — personified in our present times as those who are distant from the Catholic Church and its practice, and also those who have been relegated to the peripheries, including women, members of the LGBTQ+ community, those in their 20s and 30s, and people of color.
Paulist Mission
The foundations of Paulist prayer life happen in our formation program in Washington, DC. There, our seminarians learn that prayer is essential to being a Paulist. In our seminary, our men gather two times a day for common prayer - morning and evening - in addition to the daily celebration of the Eucharist.
At our Paulist foundations, the local community decides how best to gather together in common prayer. At some Paulist houses, the priests gather for morning prayer, and at other houses, for evening prayer. These patterns of prayer are usually guided by the pastoral responsibilities of the priests at the house.
Common prayer in our houses is balanced by individual prayer. In addition to praying the daily office from the Liturgy of the Hours - the prayer of the Church - Paulists also spend time in prayer reading scripture, meditating the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, praying the rosary, and in many other ways.
Paulist Prayer Life
The Paulist Fathers are a community of disciples sharing a common life based on the fraternal love we share in Jesus Christ. Community life is a defining part of our vocation and mission.
As brothers, we commit ourselves to living and praying and working together at our foundations. We work create an atmosphere of trust and respect for each other: celebrating important events in each other’s lives, caring for our brothers who are infirm or aging, encouraging each other’s talents, and spending time together.
Prompted by the Holy Spirit, we pledge ourselves as disciples and brothers to be ever more converted to be a joyful and prayerful Christian community that witnesses to the presence of Christ in our world.
Paulist Community Life
Discerning God’s call in life is a significant task.
That’s why the Paulist vocation team is here to support you, journey with you, and answer your questions.
We often tell people that you should connect with us not because you know where God is calling you in life, but because you don’t know.
Fill out this form and we will follow up with you.
Life at the Hecker House - the Paulist House of Mission and Studies - offers a mix of serious study, lively discussion, social gatherings, deep reflection, and prayer. Our formation program has been in Washington, D.C. since 1889. Our novices and seminarians study nearby at The Catholic University of America.
Within this environment, our seminarians and novices not only discern a call to priesthood but uncover the unique dynamics of community life and their own talents.
Life at the Paulist Seminary
Lake George, New York, where Paulist seminarians visit every summer.