“I don’t have to give up dancing…I can do this.”

Paulist Father Ed Nowak is an avid athlete. He runs, bicycles and hikes. But he’s also something of a cheerleader--of people moving forward in their faith. When Father Ed was a college student studying engineering at Penn State, it became...

“I was looking for…adventure…”

Service is always at the core of Father Stuart Wilson-Smith's adventures and musical pursuits. He says that from the time he was young, he wanted his life to be focused on helping others. It was later that he decided that...

Praying at the Piano

Paulist Father Ricky Manalo's main ministry is music. But he's also a teacher at Santa Clara University, and around the world, about liturgy and culture. He writes reflections in the devotional book "Give Us This Day." Fr. Ricky is of...

“It’s a service of humility”

"Life in the priesthood is one of humility," says Michael Hennessy in this interview recorded shortly before his May 2018 ordination as a priest. Hennessy is a New Englander who started thinking about being a priest when he was teaching...

“I wanted not to live on a pedestal”

Fr. Ken McGuire describes himself as a theological liberal who peers say still gets along well with conservatives. Father Ken says a Ph.D. in anthropology shaped him to understand how people approach situations from different mindsets and it made him...

"Open to the surprising encounter" -Paolo Puccini, CSP

Paolo Puccini describes himself as a pilgrim and a missionary. His Catholic journey and evangelization led him to the Paulist Fathers. After several years of study and formation with the community, in September 2019, Paolo made his final promises to...

“People remember the simple human touch.”

(Photo by Ryan Haggerty) Fr. Vinny McKiernan's worked at the Newman Center on the Ohio State University campus for 26 years. Over the course of his life and work, he’s been a novice director with the Paulist Fathers. He’s also...

"There's just no greater privilege."

Paulist Father Steve Bell speaks about his conversion story, his love of music, and the pains and pleasures of being a priest. His recorded conversation with Jennifer Szweda Jordan was produced for The Paulist Fathers. (Photo by Ryan Haggerty.)

“I really loved the preaching…I just kept coming back.”

Once, when Father Matt Berrios was a teen, he missed joining his family for Mass. He looked up an alternative and ended up at the Catholic Information Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It's run by the Paulist Fathers. It was...

A Spirited Faith: Paulist Father Thomas "Tomaso" Kane

He once wore roller skates and a Pilgrim costume to serve a turkey with sparklers. And he taught the movements of the Catholic Mass to dancers for a major production of a Bernstein musical. Paulist Father Thomas "Tomaso" Kane has...