Our Pauline Fathers & Brothers

The Order of St. Paul the 1st Hermit was founded during the first half of the 13th century in Hungary . The founder of the Order was Eusebius a Canon of Esztergom. The members of the Order were actually hermits who lived in the caves in Hungary . For their patron they chose St. Paul the 1st Hermit, thereby acquiring the name of the Order of St. Paul the 1st Hermit, in short "Pauline Fathers".

The monastic order spread throughout the countries of Hungary , Poland , Croatia , Austria and Bavaria . After a period of time the government ordered the closing of many monasteries. However, they persevered in Poland , where they furthered devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, at the main monastery in Czestochowa , where they still continue to reside.

In the 1950's the Pauline Order in Poland wished to spread their missionary work to other peoples of the world. It was decided to set out to the Western Hemisphere, the land of George Washington,  namely America.

During the year 1953-1955 Father Michael M. Zembrzuski, a Pauline Monk under the direction of Father Aloysius Wrzalika, the General of the Pauline Order, and with full knowledge and permission of John F. Cardinal O'Hara, Archbishop of Philadelphia founded a Chapel of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown. Father Stanislaus Nowak arrived shortly thereafter to become the First Prior of the Monastery from 1957 through 1963.