Fr. Joseph Jilson VC
Father Joseph Jilson is a Roman Catholic missionary priest of the Vincentian Congregation (VC). He was born in India on July 26 th , 1981 in a devout Catholic family, a few kilometers away from the birth place of the great evangelist Rev. Father Joseph Bill, and is the last born of four children. Inspired by the exemplary life of many saintly priests in his surroundings he joined the Vincentian seminary for priestly studies in 1998. During the formation he recognized his missionary call and in the year 2005 he was sent to the Vincentian Mission in East Africa.
It was the providence of God that the young seminarian spent the first year of his mission life with Father Bill in Entebbe, Uganda. In those days he accompanied him to different popular missions and was highly influenced by the love and compassion Father Bill had for the children of God in Africa. A special moment in that year was the day when he received his priestly habit, the white cassock, from the hands of Father Bill. After his pastoral year in Entebbe he went to Nairobi, Kenya to continue his studies of Theology. There he was motivated by Father Anthony Saji and Father George Biju. He completed all the studies in Africa and on December 29 th , 2009 he was ordained as priest. During the annual retreat of his first year of formation, the then 18-year-old seminarian made a profound experience of the love of God. This special moment of his life, beyond words to explain, has given him a great conviction and strength so that he could follow his vocation in all struggles and difficulties, especially when he was confronted with the illness and death of his father in 2010. All these experiences helped him to become a successful spiritual master highly sought after by the faithful for family renewal guidance, youth spiritual empowerment, life crisis management, vocation discernment and Christian faith formation. At present Father Joseph is the superior and director of the Vincentian Retreat Centre in Entebbe, Uganda.
