Holy Cross College is proud to announce that Br. Paul Bednarczyk, C.S.C., Superior General of the Congregation of Holy Cross, will deliver the keynote address at the College’s 58th Commencement Ceremony.
The event will take place on Saturday, May 17, at the Pfeil Recreation Center on the Holy Cross College campus. The celebration begins with the Baccalaureate Mass on Friday, May 16, 2025, at St. Joseph Chapel.
Br. Bednarczyk, C.S.C., the 14h Superior General of the Congregation of Holy Cross, brings an inspiring legacy of faith, education, and service to this year’s Commencement. He is the first brother to serve as Superior General in the Congregation’s history.
“I am delighted to be invited by Holy Cross College to give this year’s commencement address. Given the many challenges that our world faces today, I desire to bring to the graduates a message of hope for themselves and the world they are about to enter,” Brother Bednarczyk said.
Born in New Haven, Connecticut, and a 1975 graduate of Notre Dame High School in West Haven, Br. Bednarczyk’s vocation was shaped by his encounters with the Brothers of Holy Cross. He began his formation in 1975 at Moreau Hall on the campus of Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts, and professed his First Vows in 1979 at Sacred Heart Church in Bennington, Vermont. In 1985, he took his Final Vows at St. Joseph Center in Valatie, New York.
Br. Bednarczyk earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Stonehill College and a master’s degree in religion and religious education from Fordham University. His early career included 12 years as a teacher, administrator, and campus minister at Bishop McNamara High School in Maryland and Notre Dame International School in Rome, Italy.
A recognized leader in vocation ministry, Br. Bednarczyk served as Vocation Director for his province for nine years and as Executive Director of the National Religious Vocation Conference (NRVC) for 14 years. During his tenure, he oversaw groundbreaking studies on religious vocations, including the influential 2009 NRVC/CARA Study on Recent Vocations to Religious Life. As Executive Director, Br. Paul founded the National Fund for Catholic Religious Vocations to assist religious communities in welcoming candidates with educational debt. Since its establishment in 2014, the Fund has distributed over $1 million in grants. Br. Bednarczyk has also published extensively on vocation ministry and has led workshops and retreats across North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
Br. Bednarczyk’s service within the Congregation of Holy Cross has been profound. In 2016, he was elected First General Assistant and Vicar by the General Chapter, and in 2022, he made history as the first brother elected Superior General of a clerical religious institute in the Catholic Church. As Superior General, Br. Bednarczyk provides spiritual and administrative leadership to the Congregation’s members worldwide.
“”It is a tremendous privilege to have Brother Paul Bednarczyk, C.S.C. as our commencement speaker,” said Holy Cross College President Dr. Marco Clark. “Following the example of Jesus, Brother Paul has spent his life in ministry working with zeal to make God, known, loved, and served. Brother Paul is the embodiment of the virtues that we espouse at Holy Cross—a lifelong scholar, courageous citizen, virtuous leader, and hopeful disciple.”
For more information about the 58th Commencement Ceremony, please visit Holy Cross College’s Commencement page.