At 26, Father Paul Hedman is the youngest priest serving in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Ordained in 2020, he said “I still use that as an excuse, like, hey, if I mess up, I’m the youngest priest. You can’t get mad at me, right?”
His age also qualifies him as a member of the millennial generation, generally defined as those born between 1996 and 1981. That gives him an advantage in understanding and knowing how to reach the millennial generation.
Father Paul Hedman
Father Hedman, associate pastor of St. Peter in Forest Lake, recently joined “Practicing Catholic” radio show host Patrick Conley to discuss how the Church and parishes can effectively reach out to millennials.
Priests of any age or demographic have their own particular set of skills and things they bring to the table, Father Hedman said. “I need a few more years under my belt before I can get really good at some of the stuff, but the advantage of being a younger priest is really being able to connect with people who are my age,” he said, “and the people who are my age increasingly are being ‘nones’ and people who really have no religious affiliation.”
Father Hedman said reaching out with a unique perspective but as “a normal person who loves Jesus Christ and is a Catholic priest” is important, as is attending young adult events as a young adult.
For example, Father Hedman said, he attends the Catholic Beer Club in St. Paul and Minneapolis whenever he can. “I’ve been told it’s great to have a priest there who is the same age of the people who are attending,” he said.
Asked what a parish could do to become a place where young adults feel more welcome, Father Hedman said that millennials, like everyone, want a sense of community. But “the sort of society that we live in right now can be really hard to find that, especially for young Catholics” who may have a hard time finding other young, like-minded Catholics who want to live their faith in a world where so many peers are not practicing Catholics or are “outright against religion,” he said.
Father Hedman said offering young adults the opportunity to gather at events like “Pints with a Priest” or other activities can help build community within a parish. “Sometimes, young adults will go to parishes where there are other young adults,” he said.
Parishes could offer a place for young adults to meet other young adults and live out the faith in a very intentional way, Father Hedman said. Having a mix of “regular events” and more spontaneous events can help build community, particularly activities that are “low commitment” and won’t scare people away, he said.
Extending a personal invitation goes a long way, Father Hedman said. To hear other tips for engaging millennials who are not regular church-goers, and to hear the full interview, listen to this episode of the “Practicing Catholic” radio show. It airs at 9 p.m. July 9, 1 p.m. July 10 and 2 p.m. July 11 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes interviews with Joshua LaFond and Eric Menzhuber, who describe creating a large icon of St. Joseph used at a recent Catholic Father’s Day celebration, and Michael Griffin from St. Olaf parish in Minneapolis, who discusses how parishioners are teaming up with a nonprofit housing developer to create more affordable housing in the heart of Minneapolis.
Listen to all of the interviews after they have aired at:
soundcloud.com/PracticingCatholic
tinyurl.com/PracticingCatholic (Spotify)
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