Fr. Robert Young was born in Orange, Texas, USA, on July 12, 1949. He was the eldest of five brothers and sisters. He was baptized in the Church of Saint Mary, where he received the sacraments and was nourished in faith. He attended elementary school, St. Mary’s High School, and the University of Dallas; U.C.L.A. at Berkley and Boston University, where he graduated.
He entered the Franciscan community of the province of St. Barbara, California. He lived the years required for Seminary; he took his first vows. in 1975 and was ordained a priest on September 11, 1982, in the Santa Barbara Mission in St. Barbara, California. After his ordination, Fr. Robert celebrated his first Mass in the Church of Saint Mary.
He was assigned to the ministry at Topowa Indians in Arizona, and later to several parishes: in Portland, Oregon; Three Rivers, California; San Francisco, California; Tularosa, New Mexico; Pensacola, Florida; Tallahassee, Florida, and Santa Barbara, California. For some time, he lived in the Holy Land, – he often said that he would have preferred to live again in the mountains of Jerusalem. At the time of his death, he was assigned to St. Petersburg, Florida, where he continued his ministry in the United States and Europe, devoted mainly to spreading the Divine Will.
At the beginning of his priesthood, he met with Sr. Briege McKenna, who prophesied that his mission would be that of “Visitation”. After a while, his order led him to move to Israel at the site of Visitation, where he lived for a few years.
He was appointed as Papal Missionary of Mercy by Pope John Paul II. As a missionary, he traveled to many countries, holding retreats, and as a speaker was invited to participate in many conferences. He was honored to concelebrate Mass with Pope John Paul II.
Fr. Robert was a humble man, and his achievements, which he didn’t want to talk about, were many. He holds a Master in Theology, in English, and in Philosophy. He spoke fluently in several languages, played many musical instruments, and sang, and was a talented writer and speaker.
Fr. Robert’s main mission over the last 16 years was to help others discover, know, love, and live the Will of God in their lives, in particular by talking about the life and writings of the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta.
He worked as director of Radio Maria in Alexandria, Louisiana. There he hosted a weekly radio program for the last six years on the spirituality of the “Kingdom of the Divine Will.” In April 2016, Fr. Robert received permission from his Provincial to be “Missionary to New Evangelization”, so he moved to the Friary/Retirement Community of St. Anthony’s in St. Petersburg, Florida. There he met a group of Divine Will every month at the Church Christ the King, in Tampa, Florida, to talk about the “Gift of Living in the Divine Will”.
Fr. Robert was very friendly. He made hundreds of friends around the world while serving in the United States and Europe. He was a quiet and peaceful man
Fr. Robert, as a good religious priest, was always a man of faith and charity, a man who loved to be alone in prayer with Jesus our Lord and the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Mother. He had the gift of good discernment. He appreciated and lived the vital virtues of obedience and humility. He was a priest who was faithful to the Word of God and to the Doctrine of the Church that he always sought to share and grow in all. A priest who defended and spent his life for the Mother Church and its mission, with great respect for his superiors and disinterested love for his brothers and sisters in Christ. He was always cautious and tried, through respectful dialogue, to create unity, especially in his work of spreading the Divine Will.
In the last period of his life, he intensely enjoyed his ministry because he was able to reach many people all over the world, spreading the Divine Will, the life and writings of Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta. He often said: “My greatest joy is to help people discover and accomplish their most profound purpose in life, that is to live every moment in God’s Will. That is why we were created and the only way to find lasting peace in this world.”
He died on Sunday, November 5, 2017, at St. Joseph Hospital in Tampa, Florida. He had just brought a friend to Tampa airport, and as he went back he suffered a severe heart attack. His Funerals and burial were held in Texas, where his family resides.
“Dear Father Robert Young, we thank God and His Will for the gift that He gave us of your person, for your life, and for your priestly ministry; for the gifts and charisms with which His Holy Spirit enriched you to beautify His Church and help us.
We thank you for your generous response to His Grace that made you live, all dedicated to the glory of God and the good of His Church, and especially for all the years, you devoted entirely to the Kingdom of the Divine Will.
Thank you for your friendship. As the Lord told Luisa about the mission of Saint Hannibal Maria Di Francia: your mission is not over, you have to continue it in Paradise. We will pray for you and ask you: help us to understand well and live the Gift of Divine Will, pray for us. “
Don Carlos e Madre Marianela