Paulist Fathers - Becoming A Paulist

Becoming A Paulist

Training to become a Paulist priest is similar to other 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 of formation is a yearlong 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. As the Paulist Seminary and Novitiate is located at St. Paul's College in Washington, DC, Paulist students have a choice of attending either the Catholic University of America or the Washington Theological Union. 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 yearlong pastoral internship, at the end of which the individual is ordained a Priest in the Missionary Society of Saint Paul the Apostle.