Born in St. Louis, Mo., in 1925, Francis MacNutt became a pre-med student but was drafted and served as an army surgical technician in World War II. He later received a B.A. from Harvard University and an M.F.A. from Catholic University of America, where he decided to enter the Roman Catholic priesthood. After becoming a member of the Dominican order and being ordained as a priest in 1956, he earned a Ph.D. in theology and he was appointed to teach Homiletics (preaching) in the Dominican Seminary. During his seven years of teaching, Francis wrote three books on preaching and was elected president of the Catholic Homiletic Society.
In 1967, Francis experienced the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and learned about praying for healing from Rev. Tommy Tyson and Agnes Sanford at a life-changing conference in Tennessee. He became one of the first Roman Catholics to become involved in the charismatic renewal movement. In 1968, he helped start a prayer group in St. Louis. By the late '60s, the demand for teaching about charismatic renewal grew so great that he resigned his administrative positions and went into a full-time preaching ministry that led him to 31 countries in all five continents. As a home base, Francis established Merton House in St. Louis, and was a founder of the Association of Christian Therapists in 1976.
In 1975, Francis met Judith Sewell in Jerusalem and five years later they married and settled in Clearwater, Fla. Together they founded Christian Healing Ministries and traveled widely, speaking as a team and taking their two children with them. In 1987 they moved to Jacksonville, Florida, invited there by the Episcopal Diocese of Florida, and since then, their center has continued to grow. In 1993, they received a dispensation to marry from the Roman Catholic Church.
In 1974, Francis wrote Healing, which has become a classic and sold nearly a million copies in the United States alone. He also has written Power to Heal, Overcome by The Spirit, Deliverance from Evil Spirits, Homosexuality: Can It Be Healed?, and The Nearly Perfect Crime: How the Church Nearly Killed the Ministry of Healing. He and Judith co-authored Praying For Your Unborn Child. Francis continues speaking, teaching and writing, and he and Judith serve as founding directors of Christian Healing Ministries.
