My name is Rev. Yves L. Francois. I have been attracted to the priesthood since I was very little. In July 1986, I joined a youth discernment group in my parish. The youth group was the initiative of the “Sisters of Immaculate Conception” to help young people in the parish to discern their vocation. I began to get involved more deeply in church activities. I began to go to youth retreats. I was searching for one answer: God’s plan for me.

As I became more active in the church, I began to discover that I like to serve people, and to spend time alone in prayer. One day, observing me interacting with the youth group of my parish, my pastor told me that I would be a good priest. I objected telling him that I had previously been in a secondary school seminary and that priesthood did not appeal to me. Moreover, it seemed to me that I was not perfect and holy enough to be chosen by God to be a priest in his Church. However, deep inside, I had that burning flame that was consuming my whole being. I knew that God was calling me for something special, not because of my worthiness, but because of his love. I also knew he was close to me, but I decided to keep him away. I was afraid of what my friends would think of me. I decided not to think about priesthood and later not to get involved in church activities anymore. But, there was an emptiness inside of me that only God could fill. I struggled with myself and with God. Finally I said: God, let me talk your talk and walk your walk!

In 1992, after graduating from Secondary School in Haiti, I entered the novitiate of the Holy Cross Fathers and Brothers. Four years later, in September1996, I ended my journey with Holy Cross and I came to the United States. But, my journey with God did not end. I went to Saint John’s University in Queens, New York, to get my college degree. After four years of discernment and prayer, with the help of my spiritual director and the Maryknoll society, I became more convinced about God’s will for me to serve as a priest in his Church. Thus, in August 2000, I entered the Diocese of Palm Beach.

After about five years of formation in the seminary at Saint Vincent De Paul Regional Seminary, on May 7, 2005, I was ordained to the priesthood of Jesus Christ at the Cathedral of Saint Ignatius Loyola by Most Rev. Gerald M. Barbarito. It was a moment of grace. It was a humbling moment during which Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito reminded me of my vocation to serve God in the Church, following the examples of Christ who came, not to be served, but to serve. After my ordination, the Bishop assigned me to the Cathedral of Saint Ignatius Loyola. Since then, I have been serving God and his people joyfully. Being able to minister to the people of God, to serve at the altar, to proclaim and break-open the Word of God is a privilege to me. In December 2006, the Bishop asked me to be the director of Vocations for the Diocese. I am very grateful to God for allowing me to share in the mission of Christ.

God continues to call me every day, every moment, in different situations of my life. He continues to call me to himself in the ordinariness of my life, with my weaknesses and my strengths, with my potentialities and my limits, but not as the ideal person I would like to be. My response to him is not a "here I am" once for all, but an every day and every moment response. My life might not be a "walk in a park," but knowing that I am responding to God’s call gives me the greatest joy and peace a human being can experience. So I tell him again, "Please God, let me talk your talk and walk your walk."

Yves Luxon Francois
Director of Vocations
Diocese of Palm Beach