Deacon Steven A. Bell, C.S.P., prepares for ordination into the Paulist priesthood

Rev. Mr. Steven A. Bell, C.S.P., professes his final promises as a member of the Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle during a Sept. 7 liturgy at St. Paul's College chapel in Washington, D.C.

by Stefani Manowski

The date was Aug. 27, 2000.The time was 3:37 p.m.

Steven A. Bell, C.S.P. remembers the moment he entered the novitiate of the Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle to the exact minute with a characteristic smile on his face. The smile continues at the mention of his upcoming ordination on June 22 in the Notre Dame Chapel of Trinity University in Washington, D.C.

The soon-to-be Paulist priest is looking forward to his pre-ordination retreat, and with good reason. Between turning 40, finishing up his studies at the Washington Theological Union and graduating with a master’s degree in divinity with certificate in spiritual direction (where he also received the prestigious Vincent Cushing Student Services Award), it has been a significant, if not whirlwind, time for Rev. Mr. Bell.

“I have to go with the flow,” said the Washington, D.C. native. “I have to keep my head in the game and hope to have some time to decompress.”

	Deacon Steven Bell, C.S.P., leads the congregation in song during the papal Mass at Nationals Stadium in Washington, D.C., April 17.

And not to be forgotten is that Rev. Mr. Bell was also a solo cantor for Pope Benedict XVI at the Mass at Nationals Park during the pontiff’s April visit to Washington, D.C.

“It was surreal,” he said. “A lot of time and effort went in to putting together an incredible liturgy.”

Although thousands saw him on the JumboTron at the stadium and millions saw him on television, Rev. Mr. Bell has not seen any video of his participation in the Mass.

“The thought of me seeing myself on television singing is … (taking a pause to search for the perfect word) … interesting. Yes, interesting. Seeing it is something that will happen in the ‘post-ordination decompression period.’”

Exhausted though he might be, Rev. Mr. Bell is all smiles as he talks about planning his ordination liturgy for the 1,200 people he expects to attend.

“It’s all coming together piece by piece,” he said nodding his head in assurance.

The journey to the Paulists

Growing up in the Church of Christ, Rev. Mr. Bell followed the example of faith set by his parents and grandparents.

“If you lived in my house, you went to church,” he said, remembering that his Bible study instructor was dazzled when a 7-year-old Steve Bell knew the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes and the Lord’s Prayer.

“Ever since I was 16 years old, I knew that ministry was going to be a major part of my life,” said Rev. Mr. Bell, who always felt comfortable participating in church life, sometimes spending 10 hours at church every Sunday in doing so.

“I decided to become true to my church-aholism, and I loved every minute of it,” he said.

	Paulist seminarian Steven A. Bell, C.S.P. and Father Edward C. Koharchik, C.S.P., record a music DVD on Jan. 10, 2007.

After a two year self-described “pilgrimage” in search of a new church home, Rev. Mr. Bell found Catholicism “in the right place at the right time.”

“I was at a particular time in my life when I was searching for a particular place where I could bring my whole self to the altar of God,” he said.

Rev. Mr. Bell officially entered the Catholic Church in 1994, and began exploring the priesthood three years later.

“I figured the only way to really do this right was to be a priest or a brother,” he said.

After exploring the diocesan priesthood in Washington and a few religious orders, Rev. Mr. Bell didn’t feel his search proffered a good match.

“I I felt there was a certain type of person they were looking for in religious life, and I wasn’t that person,” he said. “I gave up the search.”

It wasn’t until he was asked to sponsor someone entering the church that his exploration would bear fruit. As part of being a sponsor, Rev. Mr. Bell attended an IMPAC (Improving My Personal Act with Christ) retreat. Out of about 40 retreatants, he met a Paulist seminarian who became his retreat roommate and tablemate.

“The first night I asked him all kinds of questions about the seminary, and the second night was all about me,” recalled Rev. Mr. Bell. “I told him that I wanted to work for unity among our churches and that I loved to let people know that they know that they know that God really loves them. He looked at me and said, ‘Oh my God! You really are a Paulist!’”

On a later visit to St. Paul’s College, and during a conversation with some Paulists and other guests, Rev. Mr. Bell realized he felt right at home.

“It made me stop and say, ‘This is the place,’” he said.

The journey to the priesthood

Since that fateful (or faith-filled) day in August 2000 when he entered the novitiate, Rev. Mr. Bell has been in academic preparation and spiritual formation for the Paulist priesthood.

Rev. Mr. Bell has served at several Paulist foundations, including spending his Lenten apostolate at St. Austin Church in Austin, Tex.; working with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops at World Youth Day 2000 in Toronto; serving at Immaculate Conception in Knoxville, Tenn., in 2003; spending his pastoral year at Old St. Mary’s, Chicago from 2004-05; and serving at the Paulist Center in Boston in 2005.

“I did have doubts along the way,” he said. “Profound doubts. But I found that if I went deeper than the immediate problem or crisis that was going on, it was clear to me that this is why I was built.”

In 2006, Rev. Mr. Bell served with Paulist Young Adult Ministries in New York City. He spent the summer of 2007 at the Tantur Ecumenical Institute in Jerusalem, including a stint in Switzerland attending a conference on how to build interfaith communities. At first a conference participant, he would up end up helping to run the program.

He said the questions focusing his priestly discernment evolved as he went through the formation process.

Before his pastoral year, with his novitiate year and two years of studies behind him, Mr. Bell’s discernment focused on the question: “Do I want to be a priest as opposed to something else?” he said.

His “wonderful experience” during his pastoral year in Chicago not only “reminded me of why I joined in the first place,” but changed his discernment question to: “What kind of priest do I want to be?”

Now that his ordination is at hand, that question has once again morphed into: “What is my Paulist priesthood going to be like?”

After ordination

Like his faith journey so far, the answer to Rev. Mr. Bell’s final discernment question will continue to change and grow along with his priestly experiences. The location of his first assignment will be revealed two days prior to the big event during the Paulist pre-ordination dinner. But what does Rev. Mr. Bell want his Paulist priesthood to look like?

First, he wants to have his hands in some part of the three major Paulist ministries: evangelization, reconciliation and ecumenical and interfaith relations. Rev. Mr. Bell also wants to “go where the angels fear to tread” in terms of social justice. He also wants to do “some great things with music.” If all of that were not enough, Rev. Mr. Bell wants to “create a place where people in their 20s and 30s can feel more at home and take more ownership of parish life.”

One thing he definitely looks forward to is “getting to know the people I am going to be serving and also living with.”

Although he has a very big life event coming up in the form of his priestly ordination, Rev. Mr. Bell said he feels “lighter than ever.”

“I feel 60 pounds lighter,” he said with a chuckle, “but that was probably the weight of my bookbag.”

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