Bishop David, having consulted with the Sacred Orders and Ministries Commission, has blessed the petition of Sub-deacon François Provençal for Diaconal order. Sub-deacon François was ordained to the diaconate on Sunday, Sept 11th 2022, at the Exaltation of Holy Cross Parish during Praznik. Deacon François’ motivation for his vocation is to help out people journey in their faith and to convey to them the faith experience of Christ the servant. He also became a deacon to enable a fuller experience of the beauty of the Divine Liturgy where the deacon plays an important role. A significant and important aspect of becoming a deacon for him was the yearlong internship at his parish, Exaltation of Holy Cross in Edmonton.

        Deacon François has always been interested in helping people and in the liturgy. Theology is something that has always fascinated him. Over the years of his life, he was drawn into the beautiful Byzantine liturgy. This prompted him to ask to transfer to the UGCC and study further at the Sheptytsky Institute. His interest in Eastern languages and culture (Serbo-Croat, Russian, and Ukrainian) has been steady since he was deployed with NATO in Ex-Yugoslavia with the Canadian military in 1999.

        Deacon François was born and raised in a small community, Plessisville, on the south shore of St-Lawrence river between Quebec City and Montreal. His first language is French. He entered Quebec City major seminary in 1988 and discerned a vocation call for 4 years, until 1992, and got his undergrad in Theology at Laval University. In 1992/93 he got his teaching degree at Laval University. He was married in 1995 and worked as a High School teacher in the Quebec City region. He joined the Canadian Forces Reserve in 1995 and transferred to the Regular Forces in 1998 as a military chaplain (RC) Pastoral associate. During his first few years in the military, he completed a Master’s degree in Theology at Laval University(1999). From 1998-2008, he worked as a military Chaplain, and from 2008-2018 as a Military Specialist. In 2013, he completed a Licentiate in Eastern Christian Studies at the Sheptytsky Institute in Ottawa. Over the span of his military career, he moved 8 times and lived in three provinces.

        Deacon François encourages everyone to realize the important role of the diaconate as it brings the image of Christ servant to the Church and the world in a tangible manner through the ministry of Charity, Faith, and Liturgy.