St. John Vianney

John Vianney is known as the Curé (parish priest) of Ars. He was born May 8, 1786 near Lyons, France. As a boy he wanted to be a priest, but he could not begin his studies until age twenty. He had difficulty with his studies because he had little previous schooling and they were interrupted when he was drafted into Napoleon’s army. He got lost when his unit was moving out and was persuaded by kindly townspeople to desert; Napoleon granted amnesty to deserters in 1810 and John came home. He was ordained in 1815, after his superiors decided that his virtue would compensate for his inadequate learning. For a time he was the assistant priest for his teacher, M. Balley. He was sent to be pastor at the village of Ars when Balley died in 1817. Few people were attending the little run-down church of Ars. The new pastor’s goodness and down-to-earth sermons soon attracted many people back to church. He became known for his wise counsel in the confessional; sometimes he could read souls, telling people their secret sins. Soon people from throughout France were flocking to Ars and the good Curé was hearing confessions for much of the day. He slept little and ate little, frequently subsisting on cold boiled potatoes. Many sick people were healed by his prayers, especially children. John Vianney died on August 4, 1859 in Ars; he had been pastor there for over forty years. He was canonized in 1925. He is the patron of parish priests and is being especially honored during the Year for Priests (June 19, 2009-June 19, 2010) proclaimed by Benedict XVI.