Paulist Fr. Richard Chilson is a native of Warren, MI.
He entered the Paulist novitiate on September 6, 1966, at age 23.
He made his Final Promise on May 17, 1970, and was ordained a priest on April 29, 1972.
Fr. Chilson's first priestly assignment was as a Catholic campus minister at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, CT.
In 1976, he moved to Berkeley, CA, where he would spend 20 years, first as campus minister and then in studies and on special assignment.
From 1997 to 2001, Fr. Chilson was based at St. Philip Neri Church in Portland, OR, as an associate pastor through 1999 and then as part of the preaching apostolate.
He then moved to St. Lawrence University Parish in Minneapolis, MN. He was a hospital chaplain in Minneapolis from 2003 to 2010.
Since 2010, he has been in senior ministry at Old St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco.
Fr. Chilson also is the author of multiple Paulist Press books.
In 2022, to mark the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination on April 29, 1972, Fr. Chilson sat for an interview with filmmaker Emanuele Sesta. In this video, he recalls his early life and decades of ministry.
The full, unabridged audio of Emanuele's interview with Fr. Chilson is available on SoundCloud and StoryCorps.
No shortcode ID found