Today is the 160th anniversary of a key moment in our history.

On March 6, 1858, Pope Pius IX dispensed Fr. Clarence Walworth, Fr. Augustine Hewit, Fr. George Deshon and Fr. Francis Baker from their vows as Redemptorist priests.

Together with Fr. Isaac Hecker, they founded the Paulist Fathers on July 7, 1858.

To learn some of the background details of this event, we are pleased to share the clip below from Paulist Fr. Tom Gibbons’ documentary film “Issac Hecker and the Journey of Catholic America.“

In the clip, you will hear the voices of actors Bob Gunton (as Pope Pius IX) and Matt McCoy (as Fr. Isaac Hecker), as well as interviews with Paulist Fr. Paul Robichaud, Dr. John Farina and Cardinal Edward Egan:

To watch the full documentary, please visit Amazon or Vimeo.