Five decades of service: Carolyn Francis passes torch after 53 years of ministering to youths

By Rob Herbst
The Catholic Week
MOBILE — With a beaming smile and an innocent swagger, Carolyn Francis speculated on how her life would be different had she continued to study acting in college. 
“Maybe I would have gotten an Emmy. Or maybe I would’ve had my star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame,” Ms. Francis joked.
Maybe. 
Or maybe she wouldn’t have impacted countless children during her five decades of ministry either. Saying Ms. Francis impacted more than 1,000 children in Mobile likely isn’t an understatement. 
Ms. Francis, 76, recently stepped down after 54 years of serving youths at Prince of Peace Parish in Mobile, mostly as head of the parish’s CCD program. Her efforts were recognized during a reception earlier this summer when many of the former children she helped mentor showed their gratitude.
“I’ve been in awe,” Ms. Francis said. “I don't know, I just never thought I would have received the accolades and know that I touched their lives in some way.”
Born and raised in the “Down the Bay” area of Mobile and a product of St. Peter Claver grade school, parish and Most Pure Heart of Mary High School, Ms.  Francis’ ministry started because she answered a call.
She had recently graduated from what is now Jackson State University in Mississippi and was beginning her 26-year teaching career in the Mobile County Public Schools system when she received a phone call from a parish priest seeking someone to moderate the parish’s youth group and work with the CYO program.
Ms. Francis made sure to use her gifts as an educator.
“My father always used to tell us, you have a talent. God has given you this talent. And when the day of judgment come, you are going to have to answer how you use this talent. Don't be looking for earthly rewards. Just do your part,” Ms. Francis said.
Do her part she did.
Ms. Francis said she became head of the parish’s CCD program in the late 1970s and kept on going until she felt this was the appropriate time to step down.
While Ms. Francis has stepped down, she is a role model for all Catholics, according to Prince of Peace pastor Fr. Victor Ingalls.
“It has been a real joy to serve alongside Ms. Francis this past year,” said Fr. Ingalls, who became Prince of Peace pastor in 2023. “She is not only a product of the rich ‘Down the Bay’ Catholic community, but has answered the call to give her life in service to that same family of faith. She is a great example to us all of how a parishioner is called to build God’s kingdom in their own backyard.”
Ms.  Francis said she ministered to children in the CCD program because of the lasting impact she could have on many. 
According to Ms. Francis, the program meets on Sundays before Mass and routinely has 30 children of various grade levels.
“I chose it for 50 years because I wanted to give children memories,” she said. “I know that they started here with me and at least I had some say in their belief in God and knowing that God is always there for them.” 
Of course, God also chose Ms. Francis for the ministry. 
Ms. Francis was raised in a big family – one of 10 children – but she never married. “Three engagements, but I guess my personality was too strong,” she quipped. “God didn't intend for everybody to be biological mothers or intend for all women to be married. He intended for some of us to be here to help who are married raise their children. I said ‘Here I am Lord. Guide my path.”
Prince of Peace Parish office manager Stacey Ragland said “Ms. Francis has meant an extension of the family. She has been a mother to some, an auntie to many. She reinforces our core values that are taught at home about going to church, serving God and having respect for His word.”
Once she began ministering to children, Ms.  Francis never looked back – except once. 
Her mother was ailing at the time and Ms. Francis was the primary caregiver. This prompted Ms. Francis to hand over CCD duties to a co-director on some Sundays. 
“My mother told me one morning ‘you can’t do those children like that because they miss you. …She said, ‘don’t ever let me be the reason that you stop doing what God has called you to do.’”
Now it’s time for someone younger to take over, Ms. Francis said. 
It doesn’t mean she’ll be away from the parish. It just means it’s time to begin a new five-decade chapter of her life.
“Every morning that the Father wakes you up, he's letting you know that whatever is in His book for you is not finished.”