Spiritual Direction

Jesus Christ used to take the Twelve Apostles away to a lonely place to pray with them.  He also would reveal to them the deeper meaning of the Scriptures and even revealed to some of them a special place or mission they had in His work. 

Since then, and all throughout the history of the Church, spiritual direction has had an important place in the Christian life.  Here at St. Paul's, we are dedicated to providing for anyone who wants it, good people to guide you in the spiritual life.

If you want to be holy then you are ready to have a spiritual director.  Below we have an excellent list of priests and religious to act as spiritual directors for any who request them.  You can contact a director at your discretion and meet with them on your schedule.

Your director will not speak for God, but will help you to better understand the Word of God and how God is speaking to you.


Below are the spiritual directors that St. Paul's will have throughout the year. 

Fr. Eric Nielsen		Fr. Eric Nielsen has been the Pastor of St. Paul's since 2006 and a priest of the Diocese of Madison since 1995.  The oldest of seven children, Fr. Nielsen grew up in Oshkosh, graduated in 1984 from the UW in Civil Engineering, and entered Mundelein Seminary in 1990.  As a young man he enjoyed a lot of outdoor activity and travel but now spends most of his time at St. Paul's encouraging students to focus on study and prayer as a path to know, love and serve Jesus Christ.
Fr. Eric Sternberg		Fr. Eric Sternberg grew up near Madison in Prairie du Sac, WI.  In 2000 he graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with a degree in Biology and shortly after entered the seminary.  He received his Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology in 2005 and on May 27th of 2005 he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Madison.  He has served as the parochial vicar of St. John the Baptist Parish in Waunakee and as the pastor of St. Bridget Parish in Ridgeway and Immaculate Conception Parish in Barneveld.  On Oct. 1, 2008 he became the co-pastor of St. Paul University Catholic Center.  He is also an advocate for the Tribunal of the Diocese of Madison.
Fr. Tim Uhen		Father Tim Uhen was born in Milwaukee and raised in Oklahoma City.  After receiving a BA from Marquette University he entered the seminary to study for the priesthood.  Father Uhen was ordained a priest for the Prelature of Opus Dei in 1996 and obtained a Doctorate in Sacred Theology from Santa Croce Pontifical University in Rome the following year.  His brother is also a priest ministering in Peru.  Father Tim currently resides in Milwaukee, devoting his time primarily to retreats and spiritual direction.  Father Tim's interests include sports and reading.
Fr. Paul Ugo Arinze		Fr. Paul Ugo Arinze was born in Awka, Nigeria. He joined the diocese of Madison in 1995 as a seminarian and was ordained to the priesthood on May 28, 1999. Fr. Paul graduated from Bigard Memorial Seminary, Enugu, Nigeria, an affiliate of the Pontifical Urban University Rome with a degree in Philosophy in 1995; he also holds a Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology and Masters of Divinity from University of Saint Mary of the Lake, Mundelein Seminary. He was last stationed at St. Joseph parish Dodgeville, 2003-2010, and is currently the Director of the Office of Vocations for the Diocese since January of 2010. Fr. Paul enjoys, travelling, reading, writing, and is a big tennis fan. He is also a certified ITF international tennis umpire and has officiated at Wimbledon and the US Open. His Patron Saint role model is Saint Paul.
Renée Anne Poulin		Renee Anne Poulin is a Ph.D. candidate in Italian at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She recently took her first vows in 2010 as a consecrated laywoman with the Apostles of the Interior Life, a new community in the Church especially dedicated to interior formation.