That’s right, Millington, one of the smallest towns on the Mid-Shore, is in line to have one of their natives sons be turned into canonized saint soon. That’s if Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, has his way since he formally the canonization process in September of last year.
The son of Episcopal priest, Father Paul was born in Millington at the end of the 19th Century. In 1898, twelve years after his own ordination as an Episcopal priest, Father Paul and an Episcopalian nun, Sister Lurana White, co-founded the Society of the Atonement at Graymoor ln Garrison, New York.
In 1908, Father Paul initiated the Church Unity Octave to promote and pray for unity among all Christian communities. Today, the Church Unity Octave is celebrated around the world as the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity from January 18-25. And one year later, the Society of the Atonement became the first religious community to be received corporately into the Catholic Church since the Reformation. Father Paul was ordained a Catholic priest in 1910.
In addition to his zeal for Christian unity, Father Paul is known for his great works of charity. He began St. Christopher’s Inn to care for and assist homeless men and those who suffer from addictions. He founded the Union-That-Nothing-Be-Lost to dispense funds to other charitable causes, co-founded the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, and helped launch the Catholic Medical Mission Board.
Father Paul also published a monthly magazine, The Lamp, devoted to Christian unity and missionary work, and produced the popular “Ave Maria Hour,” a radio program that aired nationwide from 1935 until 1969.
“Although he was born five years before the establishment of the Diocese of Wilmington and did most of his ministry in New York, Father Paul is one of our native sons,” said the Most Rev. W. Francis Malooly, Bishop of the Diocese of Wilmington. “As the first person born on Maryland’s Eastern Shore to have his cause for canonization opened, Father Paul of Graymoor holds a very important place in the history of our Diocese. When one considers all that Father Paul accomplished in his life, work that continues to this very day, it is a source of great pride to native Marylanders like me.”
“Father Paul’s life and ministry has had tremendous international and interdenominational impact,” said Mr. Robert G. Krebs, Chancellor and Director of the Office of Communications of the Diocese. “Our goal was to offer people, especially Catholics from the Diocese of Wilmington, a short, concise telling of the Father Paul story and I think that Father Brian Terry does this well in our video. It is our hope that viewers will become interested in the life and cause of Father Paul and be inspired to learn more about this great Marylander.”
Until Rome gets around to confirming the canonization, Millington will need to settle for Father Paul’s current title, a Servant of God.
A video on Father Paul provided by Diocese of Wilmington
James Moseman says
Thank you for publishing this article. The spiritual life of our region also has its heroes, among all denominations, with stories worth telling.