Praise be to God for the vocations and ministries of Paulist Fr. John Behnke and Paulist Fr. James Kolb who on Friday will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their priestly ordinations on May 15, 1976.

Fr. Behnke and Fr. Kolb were ordained by Servant of God Terence Cooke (then cardinal-archbishop of New York) at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle in New York City.

A native of Syracuse, NY, Fr. Behnke has ministered in New York City, Toronto, Memphis, Minneapolis, and Washington, D.C.

He served as our Director of Novices from 2005 to 2011 and as our Vice President from 2014 to 2022. Today, he works with the Paulist Archives in New York City.

“Being a Paulist has given me so many opportunities to reach out to others, people who have in turn touched my life,” Fr. Behnke once told an interviewer.

Fr. Kolb was living in Philadelphia when he joined our novitiate. He served in Alaska for the first 22 years of his priesthood, including at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks and at St. Nicholas Church in North Pole, AK.

From 2002 to 2020, he was pastor of St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church in Portland, OR. He continues to live in Oregon as a senior minister.

If you missed it, please read last week’s edition of “Things To Know” for photos of a special anniversary Mass on May 2 in Portland.