At the age of 17, the idea of being a priest crossed his mind for the first time, but he did not consider it seriously until the day he became seriously ill. Believing that he would die, he promised the Lord to become religious if he was saved. God played his part, and the boy recovered, but he forgot his promise almost immediately.
At the same time, Francisco fell ill again although, on this occasion, he entrusted himself to the then blessed Jesuit Andrés Bobola. Upon regaining his health, he again considered being religious, but again he let himself be carried away by the distractions of worldly life, postponing his spiritual concerns.
One day, while hunting, Francisco trips and accidentally shoots himself, grazing his forehead. The event left him perplexed. He then enters a period of reflection again and decides to give his life a definitive turn. He is convinced that what happened was a warning from heaven and one more opportunity – perhaps the last – to live life intensely and fully, not his way, but God’s way.
Shortly after, the young man formally resumed his discernment and came to think that God was indeed calling him to the priesthood. Then he tells his father what his intentions were: he wants to join a religious order and give himself to God. His father disagrees with him and flatly rejects such a possibility.