Our Mission
On behalf of the wider Church and the Paulist Fathers, the mission of the Paulist Evangelization Ministries is to develop effective methods to invite people to believe in Jesus Christ as Catholics or to become active again in the Catholic faith, and to equip Catholics with the tools to further this invitation.
The 
Early Years
The Paulist Fathers established Paulist Evangelization Ministries in 1977 as its apostolic arm to foster Catholic evangelization in North America. Fr. Alvin A. Illig, CSP, a dynamic and talented Paulist priest, served as the founding director until his death in 1991.
Servant of God Fr. Isaac T. Hecker, CSP, founded
the Paulists in 1858, the first order of Catholic priests established in the U.S. Today the Paulists serve Christ and the Catholic Church through the ministries of evangelization, reconciliation, ecumenism, and interfaith dialogue.
Renewal of the Catholic Church in the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) brought intense focus on Jesus' command to "Go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19) as a duty of the Church and its members "so that people can believe and be saved," wrote Pope Paul VI in 1975. In 1992, the U.S. bishops responded with a national plan for Catholic evangelization to help Catholics live their faith enthusiastically, share it freely, and bring gospel values to everyday life.
Headed today by Fr. Frank DeSiano, CSP, Paulist Evangelization Ministries is a national leader in Catholic evangelization. Fr. DeSiano, president of Paulist Evangelization Ministries, served as a consultor for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Evangelization for more than a dozen years. He has written books on the Catholic faith, evangelization, and spirituality, and frequently gives presentations on evangelization topics at national, diocesan, and parish gatherings. He has recently worked on pastoral tools such as
Reactivating Our Catholic Faith and Why Not Consider Becoming a Catholic? (Paulist Press) to help reach Catholics on the sidelines of faith.
Fr. Kenneth Boyack, CSP, vice president of Paulist Evangelization Ministries, has authored, co-authored, or edited 15 books including
The New Catholic Evangelization and
Awakening Faith,
Reconnecting with Your Catholic Faith (co-authored with Fr. DeSiano). Fr. Boyack served as general coordinator of the development of the U.S. bishops' document,
Go and Make Disciples, A National Plan and Strategy for Catholic Evangelization in the United States. He has developed resources such as
Invite! and
Catholics Reaching Out to equip parishes to invite and welcome inactive Catholics and those with no church family.
Looking Back, Looking Ahead
From 1977 until his death in 1991, Fr. Illig planted the seeds of evangelization in America, encouraging active Catholics to invite inactive Catholics to return to the Church, and the unchurched to join the Catholic family of believers. Also serving as executive director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on Evangelization from 1977-1982, Fr. Illig visited nearly three-quarters of U.S. dioceses, introducing evangelization to thousands of priests, religious, and laity.
Equipping parishes, preparing the laity, and helping Catholics grow in faith.
Through the years, the Paulist Evangelization Ministries has carried out its mission in various ways.
- From 1979-1986, then-PNCEA sponsored national Lay Celebrations of Evangelization. These events trained Catholics in the teachings and methods of spreading the gospel. PNCEA broadcast a modified format of the Lay Celebrations as national teleconferences from 1987-1990. During these early years PNCEA published portraits of successful evangelization programs, a national magazine, a parish-based newspaper titled Information From..., a print version of the newsletter Evangelization Exchange, and training films to assist dioceses and parishes in the ministry of evangelization.
- Share The Word magazine offered enlivening evangelization-based reflections on the Sunday Scripture readings and the daily Mass readings. It was one of the first Bible study resources for U.S. Catholics, and ran for 27 years beginning in 1980.
- Another Look, a national ministry to inactive Catholics offered from 1984-1999, included a series of five newsletters that gently invited non-practicing Catholics to again explore their Catholic faith. In 1990, PNCEA launched a major outreach to Americans with no church family - The Catholic Way of Life. This 25-part introduction to the Catholic faith, designed to draw unchurched persons into dialogue with PNCEA and their local parish, was later published as a book. Following Jesus Day by Day, a series of six 8-week meditations on Scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, became available in 1994 and is distributed today through PNCEA Prison Ministries. In 1995, PNCEA published Yes, I Can Believe, a new method of reaching out to inactive Catholics and the unchurched.
- Week-long training institutes from 1989-1999 introduced parish leaders to the methods, materials, and theology of Catholic evangelization.
- The PNCEA national newsletter, Evangelization Update, published from 1994-1999, included timely articles, methods, and materials for dioceses, parishes, and individuals.
- Disciples in Mission, a three-year, parish-wide experience of evangelization begun in 1996, has touched the lives of 4,500,000 Catholics in 3,600 parishes in 42 dioceses throughout the United States.
- PNCEA Parish Missions, from 1998 to 2007, provided dynamic and effective preaching through the lens of Catholic evangelization.
- ENVISION, Planning Our Parish Future, is a Christ-centered pastoral planning process that engages all parishioners in developing and implementing a faith-based vision for their parish. It began in 2002.
- I am E3 - Evangelizing Everyday Everywhere, is a parish resource that stimulates one-on-one faith sharing through conversation-starting faith stories on attractive, easy-to-use cards.
- PNCEA developed new resources in 2005 to help Catholics share the Gospel. Invite! assists Catholics to extend an invitation to those with no church family and Catholics Reaching Out helps them invite inactive Catholics to return to the practice of the faith. The Reconciling Community enables both active and returning Catholics to experience the blessings of the sacrament of penance. PNCEA keeps evangelization leaders informed of new opportunities and emerging trends through the Evangelization Exchange, a free electronic newsletter which began in late-2005.
- Beginning in 2006, Paulist Evangelization Ministries went online with the Catholic Faith Inventory, a pastoral tool for use in colleges and parishes, that helps participants assess their knowledge and practice of the Catholic faith.
- In 2006, Paulist Evangelization Ministries began quarterly webinars, called Catholic Speakers Online, which feature live, interactive, hour-long presentations by experts in various ministries.
- With the same format as Catholic Speakers Online, Paulist Evangelization Ministries hosted live, online quarterly meetings of arch/diocesan leaders of evangelization for two years (2006-2007).
- Best Practices for Parishes, completed in 2008, is an online self-study tool that enables parishes to assess and implement seven dimensions of parish life using best practice statements drawn from church documents, pastoral experiences and ministry experts.
- In 2007, Paulist Evangelization Ministries began the Paulist Evangelization Training Institute online which offers courses in Catholic evangelization and its many practical applications over the internet.
- Also, in 2007, Paulist Evangelization Ministries published The Eucharistic Community, a collection of four separate resources to help Catholics know the Mass and deepen their love for the Eucharist.
- In 2008, Paulist Evangelization Ministries replaced the quarterly meetings of evangelization leaders by establishing the Online Forum Community for Arch/Diocesan Leaders of Evangelization, a 24/7 membership website for networking, discussion and sharing resources.In September 2008, then-PNCEA hosted Proclaiming Christ 2008, the first major, multi-day national Catholic conference entirely over the internet.
- Launched in 2009, Awakening Faith, Reconnecting with Your Catholic Faith, equips parishes to welcome and invite inactive Catholics.
- Paulist Evangelization Ministries hosted its second national online evangelization conference, Proclaiming Christ 2009, from October 19-23. It featured three keynote presentations, 16 focus sessions, daily reflections with faith sharing, a discussion group dedicated to outreach to inactive Catholics and exhibits. A CD of the presentations is available in the online store.
- The Evangelization Resources Catalog, published yearly, offers readers a broad array of resources and materials to foster parish-based evangelization.
Special ministries. In 1994, the late Fr. Thomas Comber, CSP, founded Paulist Evangelization Ministries
Prison Ministries to help prison chaplains and volunteers provide inmates with solid Catholic literature. From serving 190 prisons that year, Prison Ministries has grown to sending newsletters, Bibles, adult faith education books, and prayer cards to over 900 prisons and jails in the U.S.
Applied research. Throughout its history, Paulist Evangelization Ministries has participated in and encouraged research around the questions of church participation and affiliation. PNCEA led an ecumenical coalition that sponsored the first major Gallup study on the
Unchurched American in 1978 and its follow-up study in 1988. Paulist Evangelization Ministries uses professional research tools to develop and evaluate its own resources.
ENVISION, Planning Our Parish Future, includes a professional survey instrument developed in collaboration with the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate to help parishes set their priorities and plan their future around an evangelizing perspective.
Presentations and consultations. Paulist Evangelization Ministries staff members give presentations throughout the United States and serve as consultants to dioceses and parishes seeking to carry out the evangelizing mission of Christ.
New resources. PNCEA continues to develop new resources and seek new ways to equip parishes and prepare the laity for evangelization, as well as to help Catholics grow in faith.