Paulist Fathers

The Missionary Society of Saint Paul the Apostle, better known as the Paulist Fathers, is a Roman Catholic society of apostolic life for men founded in New York City in 1858 by Servant of God Fr. Isaac Thomas Hecker in collaboration with Fr. George Deshon, Fr. Augustine Hewit, and Fr. Francis A. Baker. Members of the society are Paulists, and identify themselves as such by the use of the initials C.S.P. after their names, for the Congregation of St. Paul. The Society's mission is to evangelize—preach the gospel or give information with the intention of converting people to Catholicism—the people of North America in a manner suited to the continent's culture.

North American focus

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.