Paulist Press

Paulist Fathers

Abbreviation	CSP
Motto	"Missionaries Giving the Gospel a Voice Today"
Formation	July 7, 1858, New York City, NY, USA
Type	Society of apostolic life
Purpose	Missionaries to North America
Headquarters	Manhattan, New York City
Region served	North America
Membership	Roman Catholic Priests
President	Eric P. Andrews
Main organ	Council
Parent organization	Roman Catholic Church
Staff	Approx. 100 Priests active
Website	www.paulist.org

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 Isaac Thomas Hecker in collaboration with George Deshon, Augustine Hewit, and 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.

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.

Because the Paulist Fathers' primary mission has been the conversion of the American people and society, almost all of its foundations (as Paulist centers of ministry are called) and priests are located in the USA. There are Paulist Foundations in 11 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. They also serve the American Catholic community in Rome at Santa Susanna, and, until June 2015, maintained foundations in Toronto.