RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Paul the Apostle
PAUL OF THE CROSS. See Passionists.
PAUL THE APOSTLE, CONGREGATION OF MISSIONARY PRIESTS OF SAINT: A congregation familiarly known as the " Paulist Fathers " or the " Paulists." This congregation, which is the only religious institute of clerics in the United States that is of American origin, was founded in 1858 in the city of New York by five native American priests, all converts from Protestantism, who previously had joined the Redemptorist order and were actively engaged in preaching missions throughout the United States. These men were Clarence Walworth and Francis A. Baker, both former Episcopalian clergymen; Augustine Hewitt, who had previously passed from Congregationalism to the Episcopalian Church; George Deshon, a graduate of West Point where he had been a classmate of General Grant, and Isaac T. Hecker of German Lutheran stock, who, shortly before his submission to the Roman Catholic Church, had been a member of the Brook Farm community of " Transcendentalists " near West Roxbury, Mass.
At that time the direction of the Redemptorist order in the United States was exclusively in the hands of superiors who were German or of German descent, and the German language, together with German customs and methods, prevailed in the various houses of the community. To the recently admitted American fathers this condition of things seemed to constitute a serious drawback, and the question of founding a new house as a headquarters for English-speaking fathers, as a center of attraction for American novices, as a base for missionary work for the non-Catholic American people, and as a residence in which English instead of German should be the language in common use, was brought up for consideration. This project, though heartily endorsed by Archbishop Hughes and by Bishop Bayley of Newark, was rejected by the superiors of the order both in Rome and in America, and Father Hecker, who went to Rome to plead the case before the superior-general, was dismissed from the congregation of the Redemptorists, Aug. 29, 1857. Father Hecker remained nevertheless in touch with his American associates, and some months later the idea was suggested that they establish a new missionary society or congregation which in spirit and methods would be more adaptable to existing conditions in the United States. The plan was endorsed by Archbishop Hughes, and the five fathers having been canonically released from their allegiance to the Redemptorist order, received, Mar. 6, 1858, a papal decree permitting them to organize an independent society of missionaries to be under the direction of the local bishops. Father Hecker was elected the first superior. He drew up a provisory community rule which embodied to a great extent the regulations governing the Redemptorists, and it received the unqualified sanction of Archbishop Hughes, July 7, 1858. It differed from that of the Redemptorists and other religious orders in that it did not require the customary vows, but accepted instead a voluntary agreement on the part of the members to live in common in accordance with the spirit of the evangelical counsels. It
specified missions as the chief wo»k of the new community, and parish duties as only a subordinate function. The two cardinal points insisted upon as embodying the fundamental spirit of the new foundation were the personal perfection of the members and zeal for souls, and, in connection with the latter, special stress was laid on the hoped-for conversion of the people of the United States to the Roman Catholic faith through the apostolic labors of the missionaries. Another fundamental characteristic of the new community is worthy of note. While other congregations laid the main stress on fidelity to the rules and exercises of community life as the most important element, the Paulists give the element of personal individuality the first place, and give it free scope as far as is consistent with the exigencies of the common life. In accordance with these general principles and avowed intentions, the activity of the Paulist Fathers has radiated in various directions. Much successful mission work has been accomplished throughout the country among Catholics and non-Catholics; special attention has been given in their churches to the proper carrying out of the liturgical services, and in particular to the reform of ecclesiastical music. In this connection they have organized choirs of men and boys, promoted congregational singing, and have published hymn-books for the spread of devotional music. The Paulists have also striven to elevate the standards of Roman Catholic homiletic literature and adapt it to the needs of the American people. Beginning with 1861 a volume of the Paulist sermons was published annually for seven years, and later appeared three volumes of Five Minute Sermons for Early Masses. In their missions and in the parishes under their control the Paulists have been strenuous and consistent advocates of temperance. Their propaganda in favor of sobriety has been exerted through sermons, tracts, articles in their own publications and letters to the public press, through petitions to the legislature and action at the polls, through the formation of total abstinence societies and through the establishment of the Temperance Publication Bureau, with its periodical entitled Temperance Truth. Father Hecker, who, while yet a Redemptorist, had published his Questions of the Soul (New York, 1855) and Aspirations of Nature (1857), was always an enthusiastic advocate of the apostolate of the press, and this mode of exercising religious and ethical influence has been among the dominant ideals of the Paulist community. In 1865 they established the Catholic World Magazine, which has ever since been a respected and influential exponent of Roman Catholic topics before the American people. The Catholic Publication Society was organized in 1866 for the purpose of publishing at cost price and distributing books, pamphlets, and tracts for the instruction of Roman Catholics and the enlightenment of non- Catholics. This enterprise did not meet with the success that its promoters had hoped for, and was later supplanted by the Catholic Book Exchange. In 1892 the Paulists inaugurated a press department of their own at their headquarters in W. Sixtieth Street, New York City, from which are
Paul the Deacon
Paulieians