Fr. Bryan D. Paulsen, SJ

Entered Society: August 24, 2013

As a Jesuit: Father Paulsen ministered to unhoused LGBTQ+ young adults on Chicago’s North Side; and ministered at the Newman Center at the University of California, Berkeley, where he served as a deacon.

Assignment Following Ordination: Father Paulsen will serve as assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Notre Dame.

I owe a deep debt of gratitude to all the family, friends, formators, brother Jesuits and benefactors who have so graciously supported me. It is inconceivable to me how I would have progressed to ordination without their generous prayers and encouragement. Their love, advice and patience have not gone unnoticed. I am so thankful that I might pass on their generosity to those to whom I minister. Most of all, I thank God, who has dealt so gently with me all these years, in bringing me to this moment. God, who has been so faithful to forgive me, has time and time again surprised me with more goodness than I could expect or predict. Grace upon grace. I am humbled to have been called to labor in his vineyard.

When I was in discernment, Fr. David Haschka, SJ, was my spiritual director for several years. Looking back, I am amazed at his patience, and thankful for his candor. He put up with me as I fumbled through discerning a vocation as a recently confirmed Catholic. Further, he was direct with me. If he thought I could do better, he said so. When I asked questions, he didn’t beat around the bush or over-spiritualize things. He gave me an honest window into the joys and sorrows of vowed religious life. The wisdom he shared gave me realistic expectations and helped me listen to God in my life. As I was an engineering graduate student at the time, Fr. Haschka’s physics background gave us an initial common ground, but now we share a common call to serve the Church and the Society. After 49 years of priesthood, he is an edifice to faithful service.

Large photo by: Art Montes
Inset photos by: Steve Donisch