Fr. Yavarone grew up at the New Jersey shore and graduated from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia in 1987. He attended graduate school at the University of North Carolina, earning a Ph.D. in Cell Biology and Anatomy in 1991. He made his perpetual profession of vows in October 1999 and was ordained a priest in April 2000.? He has since served as Associate Pastor at St. Andrew’s Parish in Avenel, NJ, has completed his certification in spiritual direction through the Cenacle of Our Lady of Divine Providence in Clearwater, FL, spent nine years as a missionary in the Philippines, served as a member of the faculty at Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, MA for six years, and was Director of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Retreat Center in Venice, FL until January 2025. At that time, he moved to Denver to cofound, along with Fr. Timothy Gallagher, the Ignatian Discernment Institute. His work has appeared in The Way, Linacre Quarterly, and Homiletic and Pastoral Review.