Our story

Every so often someone asks me: “What did you have in mind when you began the Brotherhood; what was your plan?” Well, honestly, I didn’t have one! The Brotherhood was a surprise gift from the Lord, wholly His own initiative!

—Fr. Philip Merdinger, B.H.

In 1980, Fr. Philip Merdinger, a priest from the Archdiocese of Newark, and five lay men came together to consecrate themselves to God through private vows. These men had experienced the transformative power of God's love, and they wanted to follow the Lord Jesus by giving up everything in order to live and serve together.

Their new community sprang from an association of charismatic Catholic families in New Jersey, the People of Hope, and from the inspiration of an ecumenical group of consecrated men in Michigan, the Servants of the Word. Our founding brothers were attracted to Fr. Philip's vision for a fraternal common life: they had become "a family in the order of grace," as Fr. Philip would say.

We began our first apostolate in New Jersey, ministering to students at Rutgers University. In 1995, following a providential encounter with Cardinal Bernard Law, the Brotherhood was invited to establish its headquarters in the Archdiocese of Boston. Cardinal Law granted us canonical approval in 1998. We have since grown to more than 20 vowed brothers, with five households in four states.