Father Maier has served in numerous parishes in diocese
Having attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help School and St. Andrew Seminary in Rochester, New York, for elementary and high school, respectively, Father Paul Maier said he felt “gradually” called to the priesthood “early in grade school.”
His family was also very religious.
“My parents were pretty much daily Mass goers,” said the priest.
That ongoing pull toward the priesthood resulted in a 50-year vocation that has taken Father Maier across the Diocese of Richmond.
He celebrated his golden jubilee on May 16.
After graduating from St. Andrew, Father Maier attended St. Bernard Seminary in Rochester and earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy.
“I had left the seminary in the middle of third theology, and I still had an interest in education, so I was working on a degree in religious education,” he said.
He earned a Master of Religious Education from Catholic University of America in Washington in 1968.
Father Maier then returned to St. Bernard and earned a Master of Divinity in 1974.
He also holds a Doctor of Ministry from St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, Maryland (1981); and a Master of Pastoral Studies from Loyola University in New Orleans, Louisiana (1991).
According to Father Maier, his post-graduate education helped him in his ministry with “background and interaction and knowledge” as he connected with the faithful.
Father Maier said coming to serve in the Diocese of Richmond after growing up in New York was a “natural thing” after finishing his degree at Catholic University because at that time, the Diocese of Richmond extended into northern Virginia. The Diocese of Arlington was established in 1974.
Father Maier was ordained by Bishop John J. Russell, whom he described as “a great Vatican II bishop.”
Throughout his 50 years of priesthood, Father Maier has most enjoyed making the sacraments available to people, “especially the Eucharist and reconciliation.”
Interacting with the many people he has encountered in his vocation and administering the sacraments have been key, he said, in being a happy priest.
Father Maier said his first assignment, first as deacon and then associate pastor at St. Jerome, Newport News, helped lay the foundation for the subsequent years of his vocation.
“A real key is my first assignment with Father Richard Dollard, who really helped set the tone for my ministry. When I arrived at the door, he said, ‘As far as I’m concerned, this is a team ministry.’ And it was.” said Father Maier. “We mentored each other. We had a good and close and fruitful relationship for those 25 months.”
Father Maier served in a variety of roles during his active ministry. He was associate pastor at St. Jerome, Newport News (1970-1971); St. Mary, Richmond (1973-1975); and Holy Cross, Lynchburg (1975-1977); administrator at St. Mary, Coeburn; Good Shepherd, Lebanon; and St. Therese, St. Paul (2005-2006).
He was pastor of St. John, Highland Springs (1977-1982); St. Joseph, Martinsville (1982- 1994); Good Shepherd, Lebanon, and St. Therese, St. Paul (1995-2003); and Christ the King, Abingdon, and St. John, Marion (2003- 2012).
While serving at Christ the King, Father Maier also served as chaplain at the Jubilee House Retreat Center in Abingdon.
“I always had an interest in retreat work, so that just naturally felt like the place (I should be),” he said.
Father Maier retired from active ministry in 2012. In his free time, he enjoys reading, spectator sports and watching TV.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Father Maier said he will not have a celebration to mark his golden jubilee.
“Fifty years is a good run, a long run,” he said.