Born in Vienna, Austria, Sister Miriam Paul Klaus moved to Louisville, Kentucky, with her family at a young age. She earned her B.A. and M.D. from the University of Louisville. She heard about Medical Mission Sisters while living in Boston, working at Harvard Medical School and Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. She joined the Community in 1957.

After serving 7 years in Pakistan and in what is now Bangladesh, Sister Miriam Paul returned to the U.S. and began lecturing in the Billings Ovulation Method of Natural Family Planning (NFP). She settled in St. Louis, serving as District Superior from 1971 - 1974. She also taught at St. Louis University Medical School, and at Washington University School of Medicine. In 1975, she became Director of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at St. Francis Hospital in Wichita, Kansas.

Moving to Washington, D.C., in 1978, Sister Miriam Paul worked for 2 years as Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at George Washington University, and also worked as an obstetrician/gynecologist. In 1980, she became Executive Director of the Natural Family Planning Center in Bethesda, Maryland. In addition to publishing numerous research articles, and being involved in many professional associations, she has conducted training workshops in the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe on the Ovulation Method of NFP. "It is a simple and effective way of teaching the theology of the body," she says.

In the 1980's, Sister Miriam Paul and her colleagues developed the TeenSTAR program (Sexuality Teaching in the Context of Adult Responsibility), which has grown in popularity worldwide. She continues to conduct training workshops around the world; in 2004, her schedule includes meetings in Europe, Hong Kong, Korea, Kenya, and the U.S.