Paulists, also called the Paulist Fathers, are members of the first Roman Catholic order of priests to be founded in America. Isaac Thomas Hecker, an American priest, founded the order in New York City in 1858. Its full name is the Society of Missionary Priests of St. Paul the Apostle. Hecker founded the Paulists as a community of priests dedicated to Americanizing immigrant Roman Catholics and carrying Catholicism to non-Catholic Americans. Today there are only about 125 Paulists in the United States, Canada, and Italy. Despite their small numbers, the Paulists have been influential, especially through their effective use of print media, radio, and television.
