Servant of God Paul Wattson was born Lewis Thomas Wattson on January 16, 1863, in Millington, Maryland, USA, to Joseph and Mary Electa Wattson. Raised in a devout household with roots in Protestant ministry, he initially entered the Episcopal Church and was ordained as an Episcopal priest in 1886, serving congregations and missions in Maryland, New York, and Nebraska. Even in his early ministry, Paul felt called to deeper spiritual life and to work for Christian unity—a theme that would shape his entire vocation.

In 1898, together with Mother Lurana White, he co-founded the Society of the Atonement at Graymoor, New York, a Franciscan community dedicated to promoting reconciliation and Christian unity rooted in the Gospel. The Society’s very name—as “atonement” understood as at-one-ment—reflected his vision of bringing Christians into deeper communion with each other and with Christ. In 1908 he inaugurated what would become the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, observed each year by Christians around the world, and a year later he and the entire Society were received into full communion with the Catholic Church—a historic corporate reception that was unprecedented at the time.

After his reception into the Catholic Church in 1909, Paul was ordained a Catholic priest in 1910 and continued his ministry with zeal, founding initiatives such as CNEWA (Catholic Near East Welfare Association) to support the disadvantaged and further the cause of unity and charity. He also promoted devotion to Our Lady of the Atonement and used media of his day—like the Ave Maria Hour radio program—to spread the message of reconciliation and faith.