Desire for a vital church in the future leads Deacon Francioni to vocation

As he pondered what the future of the church will look like for his grandchildren and future generations in light of the declining number of priestly vocations, Deacon Billy Francioni received his own call to be part of the solution by becoming a deacon.

Bishop Michael G. Duca ordained Deacon Francioni and three other men to the permanent diaconate on Aug. 12 at St. Joseph Cathedral in Baton Rouge.

Deacon Francioni and wife, Melinda, moved to Baton Rouge from
New Orleans 36 years ago and have been members of St. Jude the Apostle Church in Baton Rouge for the past 30 years.

As the Francioni family expanded, with children Daniel, Kevin, Amy and Jason, it found its niche at St. Jude. The children attended St. Jude School and Billy and were baptized and confirmed at St. Jude. Billy was very involved with the St. Jude Men’s Club and St. Jude Fair and was on the St. Jude School Board and Athletic Association. Melinda was on the school’s Home and School Association board and coordinated the Vacation Bible School.

“We all did it as a family here. It’s been a great home,” said Deacon Francioni.
He has been connected to the Catholic faith since he was a child. His parents instilled in him the need to serve others. The family devoted their time to St. Michael Special School in New Orleans and bonded with Sister Lillian McCormack SSND, who established the school in 1965 with support from the Archdiocese of New Orleans to serve children and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

“The example of my parents and Sister Lillian planted the seed of devotion to the church,” Deacon Francioni said.

He also had an aunt who was a nun and a sister who is a religious sister, so “religious life has always been around,” according to Deacon Francioni.

But he never thought about a diaconate vocation for himself or what it was about until he joined the Serra Club of Baton Rouge, which encourages and supports vocations to the priesthood and religious life.


Father Trey Nelson, St. Jude Pastor and director of the diocesan Pastoral Planning Task Force, asked Deacon Francioni to help the group develop a strategic plan to deal with the realities of the declining number of priestly vocations. Deacon Francioni was worried about the impact the shortage of priests would have on his grandchildren.

“It was eye opening. Melinda and I had our first grandchild and I thought he was going to come up in a different world than I did without religious around him.

“Driving alone one day, I came to the realization that rather than just putting my hands together and praying for someone else to have a vocation to the priesthood or diaconate, why can’t I do it?” Francioni said.

He conceded with a grin, “The list of 100 reasons why I’m not eligible for this came to mind, the ‘fight with God.’ And I lost, he won.”
 When he talked over his plans with Melinda, she was open to it and supported him through the formation process.

“I could not have done it without her,” Deacon Francioni said.


Deacon Francioni took the formation process one day, one class at a time.
“I never envisioned myself on the altar,” Deacon Francioni said. “I was doing this to help priests and didn’t imagine that you would have to be in front of people who would be looking at you. From the standpoint of a cradle Catholic, I couldn’t imagine why it took five years to become a deacon. I thought I knew it all.”

But his eyes were opened when he realized how much he didn’t know.
“I could not have done it without the support of my classmates, my family and my (FranU) professors and friends,” said Deacon Francioni.

There were times when Deacon Francioni was beleaguered with doubts and he questioned, “Can I do it?” “Should I do it?” and “Am I good enough?”

“But with all the support around me, I know that I can,” said Deacon Francioni.
The new deacon looks forward to help bringing faith-based answers to those who are struggling.

“I hope to be someone who can help them find what they’re looking for in Christ,” Deacon Francioni said.

The deacon’s mission of charity will be the Diocese of Baton Rouge’s EnCourage apostolate. EnCourage provides pastoral care for families and friends of people who experience same-sex attractions and/or gender identity discordance. Faithful to the teaching and pastoral guidelines of the Roman Catholic Church, EnCourage members support one another and their loved ones through discussion, prayer and fellowship.

Deacon Francioni has the “double blessing” of being assigned to his home parish and recently being hired as St. Jude’s Director of Ministry Development.

“We want to not just sustain our ministries, we want to help them grow,” Deacon Francioni said.

And within a large parish such as St. Jude, Deacon Francioni wants people to feel they are at “home,” just like he and his family do.

“I want people to feel comfortable talking to me and help them wherever they are in life and struggles,” Deacon Francioni said.

Photos by Collin Richie | Collin Richie Photography