John Bosco Maison

Fr. John Bosco Maison has a way of making people feel they belong. Across four countries and three decades of ministry, the parishioners he has served describe the same man: warm, joyful, quick to laugh, and utterly without judgment, the kind of priest families grow attached to and are heartbroken to see reassigned. More than a few have simply called him their favorite.

He grew up in the small gold-mining town of Prestea, Ghana, one of a large and loving family, where home and church were the two places he felt the most love. As a boy he watched the altar servers and longed to join them, and when he finally could, he was enchanted by the mystery of standing so near the sacred vessels and the Eucharist. He credits two people with his vocation: his mother, who gave him the joy of her faith and a love of singing in church he carries to this day, and his hometown pastor, who was available, approachable, and encouraging. Ordained in 1996, he served six years in Ghana and a six-year mission in Jamaica before a visit to friends in Florida gave him the feeling that this would become his home. He has served the Diocese of Orlando since 2008, including twelve years at Epiphany in Port Orange and five as pastor of Ascension in Melbourne, before being named pastor of the Basilica of St. Paul in Daytona Beach in 2026.

For all his love of prayer, study, and the balance he keeps in his own life, what has always driven Fr. John Bosco is people. He believes it is not where you are but who you are with that matters, a conviction that took its clearest form after his mother, who never received an education herself, died in 2012. He and his Port Orange parishioners raised the money to build the first library his Ghanaian hometown had ever seen, in her memory. "The goal is to better people's lives through education," he said, "even if one or two or three lives could be touched." For Fr. John Bosco, the greatest gift he has known as a priest is still celebrating the Eucharist. It is at that table, he says, that he has come to know the Lord, to love Him, and to serve others in His name. He always prays to be a priest people can turn to in their time of need.