Father Johnson Vil

Fr. Johnson Vil was born on July 27, 1970, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He is the firstborn son in the family. He has three brothers and two sisters. Fr. Johnson and his siblings grew up in the church.



One day, as a child, He saw his dad holding a crucifix. His dad explained to him that it was on this cross that Jesus was crucified and that he rose again three days later. However, when Fr. Johnson looked at the crucifix, the image did not move. He told him that this Jesus remains dead because he does not move. His father smiled and told me it was a symbol, and that Jesus was real and had truly died for our sins; he did indeed rise again after three days. He added, "When you go to Mass, when the priest elevates the Host and the wine, they are transformed into the body and blood of Christ. Since that moment, he has dreamed of becoming a priest when he grew up.

After graduating from high school, several friends urged him to apply to medical school. Deciding between a career in medicine and the priesthood was a difficult decision for him. One day, after morning Mass, he decided to abandon the idea of ​​medicine and spoke to his pastor about his desire to prepare to become a priest.

In October 2003, he was ordained a priest. It was a unique experience for him.  Then, he became the vicar of Les Palmes parish, located in the mountains in the south of the Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince. Six years later, he was named pastor of the same parish.

In February 2024, Bishop Pierre Andre Pierre, who oversees Haitian pastoral in the United States, informed him of a project to celebrate Mass in Creole for the Haitian community in the Diocese of Evansville. His bishop, Bishop Max Leroys Mesidor, the Archbishop of Port-au-Prince and President of the Episcopal Conference of Haiti, gave his consent. In May 2024, Very Rev. Alex Zenthoefer, Vicar General of the Diocese of Evansville, wrote him regarding the intention of Bishop Joseph Siegel of the Diocese of Evansville to establish this community. On November 13, 2024, he arrived at the diocese, where the Vicar General welcomed him and entrusted him to the care of Fr. Benny and his assistant, Fr. John.

Fr. Johnson currently manages two Haitian communities. In Evansville at the Annunciation Parish, where he celebrates Mass in Haitian Creole every Sunday at 11 am. The other Is at Our Lady of Hope Parish in Washington, Indiana. The Haitian Mass is at 4 pm. Very Rev. Paul Ferguson is the Pastor.

His focus right now is to spread the word and let others know so our communities can continue to grow and do God’s will.