History of the Pauline Family

The Pauline Family has grown over the years and, through the difficult times of war and social upheaval, has spread to many nations, taking on the faces and colours of every person and culture. It has become like a sea where ‘abundant riches of grace” converge, like many rivers that open new paths of evangelisation and holiness.

 The Society of Saint Paul was founded at the beginning of World War II to communicate the Christian message using all means that technology put at the disposition of modern man. 

Prompted by the Spirit, Fr. Alberione founded several Institutes between 1914 and 1959. Known as the Pauline Family, all are connected by the same spirituality and by a profound bond of communion.

 As a seminarian praying before the Eucharistic Jesus in the Cathedral of Alba on the night marking the beginning of the new century (December 31, 1900), he felt Jesus’ invitation to “do something for the Lord and the people of the new century”. His was to be done by announcing the Gospel from “new pulpits” such as the press, cinema, radio, television, and today, the digital world.

 From its humble beginnings in 1914, the Pauline Family has grown into a large tree with many branches. It now comprises five Religious Congregations, four Secular Institutes and one Lay Association.

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