Viral gay tattoo artist Francis Palmquist went from serving as a Catholic priest during mass to inking up massive biceps at his studio — but it wasn’t an easy journey.
The 37-year-old opened up about his transformation in a recent interview with Religion News, discussing his years in the uber-conservative Society of St. Pius X, a small and traditional sect of Catholicism, and how he stumbled into his gig as the patron saint of realistic ink.
“I definitely don’t think I’m a saint,” he joked, though his studio’s name, St. Francis Tattoo, is a nod to the Franciscans, whose “who lives were given to the poor — just complete self-dedication for others.”
“That’s how I want to live my life,” he said.
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You might recognize Palmquist’s face (and his powerful story) from YouTube, where he began processing his ex-Catholic past through a series of videos he called the “I Am Judas Project.”
As the story goes, Palmquist grew up in Belmont, North Carolina, where his family attended church at an SSPX chapel, led by a traditionalist priest who preached against the dangers of television and rock n’ roll. Although he felt a “natural attraction” to guys, Palmquist found “peace” and “order” during mass, and pursued the priesthood head-on as a means of combating his sexuality.
After being ordained, he moved to Guadalajara, Mexico, where things fell apart as he failed to connect both with the church and its community, and he turned to drinking and struggled with disordered eating.
“It got to the point where I looked in the mirror and it was like I was a shell of who I was before,” he recalled.
That said, he found connection through “an anonymous chat app,” where he began to connect with other gay men — the beginning of what he dubbed his “little double life.”
In 2017 (and after his requests for a therapist were ignored by superiors), Palmquist was ordered to a house for “problem priests” in Kansas City.
Instead, he contacted a friend he met at a gay bar and disappeared in the night, living in Mexico for seven years, attending therapy, and finding himself again.
“[I decided] I’m going to live this new life, but as close to being a Catholic as possible,” he said, adding these “were ideas that I had meditated hours on, that I had dissected, that I had attacked and tried to refute.”
He also processed through his YouTube channel, where his videos explored themes like how art saved his life, gay conversion therapy, and even simping for hot Catholic priests.
Through a boyfriend, he met a tattoo artist and was introduced to the world of ink, eventually moving to Philadelphia where he opened his studio.
According to Religion News, Palmquist became something of a celebrity in the SSPX community, which has roughly 25,000 members, and his authenticity has resonated with both current and past members of the church.
“I’m not at my destination yet,” he added. “I never want to come across like I’m some beacon of whatever. It’s just a very human experience.”
Furthermore, being a tattoo artist has proven to be the perfect match between both his love for art and his strong suits from the church, caring for clients and “kind of being a priest to them in a sense.”
“Art has always been about passing down the knowledge that was given to you,” he added. “There’s so much good with what we’ve been given from the past.”
Check out some of his tattoo work and videos below.
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