OSV News
NEW YORK — An order of priests is revamping its ministries due to a downturn in its vocations — and the move highlights the church’s need to “triple the ask” for young men to consider religious life, said the congregation’s communications director.
The Paulist Fathers, a missionary society of Catholic priests, announced March 13 that it would wind down its presence at two universities — University of California at Berkeley and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York — and three parishes in the U.S., while folding three other longtime initiatives.
Paulist Father Rene Constanza, the order’s president, said three flagship media ministries — Paulist Press, Paulist Productions and Busted Halo — “will continue to be key expressions of our mission to the United States and around the world.”
In February, Father Constanza announced the order had been discerning the revisions since June 2022, noting that the number of aging priests and declining vocations indicated “the current situation is not sustainable.”
The order’s communications director, Paul Snatchko, told OSV News there are 101 Paulist Fathers, including six seminarians and one novice. He said the Paulists are investing more in vocation recruitment.