fr. paul de wolf

Missionhurst Father Paul De Wolf Dies

HERALD Staff Report
(From the Issue of 7/26/07) de wolf

Missionhurst Father Paul De Wolf, former pastor of Holy Spirit Parish in Annandale and Our Lady of the Blue Ridge Parish in Madison County, died last Saturday at age 82.
Father De Wolf was born in Kaprijke, Belgium on Feb. 28, 1925, to Amand Martin and Octavia Maria (Van Hevele) De Wolf. He had two brothers, Jozef and Stefaan. He entered the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Missionhurst) on Sept. 28, 1944, and pronounced his first vows on Sept. 8, 1945. After completing his philosophy studies in Scheut, Belgium, and finishing two years of theology studies in Louvain, Belgium, Father De Wolf was ordained to the priesthood on Aug. 6, 1950, in Scheut. He completed theology studies in Nijmegen, Belgium, in 1952.
His first assignment was as prefect in the Missionhurst House of Studies in Scheut from June 1952 to September 1953, and again from June 1954 to June 1960. He taught Latin in Sparrendaal from September 1953 to June 1954.
Father De Wolf left Belgium for his first mission assignment in the United States on Aug. 18, 1960. He served as parochial vicar at St. John Berchmans Parish in San Antonio, Texas, until 1962 when he was appointed the spiritual director at the Missionhurst Seminary in Washington, D.C. During his assignment in Washington, Father De Wolf taught religion at Ascension Academy in Alexandria, and attended Catholic University from 1962-63 where he took courses in counseling and guidance.
In 1964, Father De Wolf became the master of novices at Missionhurst in Arlington, a position he held until 1970 when he returned to San Antonio to become the director of the junior professed brothers. In 1971, Father De Wolf returned to the East Coast as parochial vicar at Holy Spirit Parish in Annandale. He served as pastor of Holy Spirit from 1974-81, and pastor of Our Lady of the Blue Ridge in Madison from 1981-84. He served as rector of Missionhurst from 1984 until his retirement in 1998.
In retirement, Father De Wolf was the caretaker of Missionhurst’s Riverside property in Maryland.
A Mass of Christian Burial was scheduled to be held at Holy Spirit Church, 8800 Braddock Rd., Annandale, at 11 a.m. July 26, with interment to follow at Fairfax Memorial Park.