Robert James Crowe was born on the 5th of February 1918, in Chicago, Illinois. He was the son of John Crowe and Louise Dougherty. He was raised in Oak Park, Illinois, where he attended Saint Catherine of Siena Grade School and Fenwick High School. After attending Loyola University in Chicago for two years, he entered the Novitiate at the Dominican House of Studies in River Forest, Illinois, and was given the name Francis. He made his religious profession on August 5, 1941 and continued his philosophy and theology at River Forest. He was ordained a priest on June 5, 1947, in the chapel of the Dominican House of Studies in River Forest.

All of his life he was involved in pastoral ministry with the exception of his teaching at

Fenwick High School in Oak Park and being the Athletic Director. In 1964, he became the pastor of Saint Martin de Porres Mission in Amarillo, Texas, where he would remain until 1998. He was noted for his care of the poor, of African-Americans and Veterans who were not always looked after by others. In 1998, he retired to Saint Thomas Aquinas Priory in River Forest but by 2004, his health began to decline so he moved to Saint Pius V Priory in Chicago where he received assisted care. Due to loss of memory, in 2006, he took up residence at the Resurrection Life Center in Chicago. On February 16, 2010, he died from advanced age.

The Office of the Dead and the Mass of Christian Burial were held at Saint Pius V Church in Chicago, Illinois and he was buried in the plot at All Saints Cemetery in Des Plaines, Illinois.