Paulist Associates


Who are the Paulist Associates?

Religious orders often are joined by laypersons who are drawn to the ideals and charisms of that particular order and seek to model them in their daily lives. Paulist Associates are lay women and men who have come to know the Paulist Fathers (the first religious order of men formed in the United States) and their particular attention to the Holy Spirit. After a period of discernment, formation and acceptance, they are invited to make a Promise annually to associate with the Paulist Community. These men and women meet regularly to pray, study and learn about Paulist spirituality, mission and ministries, striving to understand what the Paulist charisms of reconciliation, evangelization, ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue mean in this 21st century in America.

Paulist Associates in Boston

Since 2004, the Paulist Associates in Boston meet monthly at the Paulist Center. The gatherings often center around prayer and short readings from the works of Servant of God Isaac Hecker, founder of the Paulists (and convert to Catholicism), as well as current topics that invite lively discussion. The Boston group initially began with 12 people and, in 2016, numbered 20. Many Boston Associates have attended occasional national/regional retreats that offer opportunities to connect with Associates in other Paulist chapters. In June or July, the Associates enjoy an outing to places such as Walden Pond (a site linked to Hecker’s brief but significant time in Massachusetts), the JFK Library and The Museum of Fine Arts.

To learn about becoming a Paulist Associate, click here.

Paulist Associates Promise

I believe that I am drawn by the Holy Spirit to the spirituality and qualities of the Paulist Community. I have discerned both by prayer and study that God calls me to become associated with the Paulists. I promise that I will pray for the works of the Paulist Society, meet with others, who are also members of the Paulist Associates, for spiritual sharing and formation; and I seek to embody the apostolic qualities of the Paulists in my daily life. Attentive to the Holy Spirit and faithful to the example of St. Paul and the charism of Father Isaac Hecker, I commit myself for one year of membership in the Paulist Associates.