Francis Kottis was born in the island of Paros to George and Maria on February 12, 1897<ref>[http://www.pemptousia.com/2011/12/elder-joseph-the-hesychast-as-a-person-an-account-of-his-deeds/ Pemptousia: Elder Joseph, the Hesychast, as a person: An account of his deeds]</ref> (in other sources: in 1898). In his teens, he went to work in Piraeus. At twenty-three he began to read the lives of the Fathers, a spiritual turning point for him. These lives, particularly those of the strict ascetics, and a dream he had, gave him the desire to enter into [[monasticism]]. He responded to this desire by fasting and praying in the nearby countryside, which was uninhabited, and then going to Mount Athos.