Q & A with Fr John Flader. This week: St John Vianney.
Question: Pope Benedict declared a Year for Priests on the occasion of the 150th
anniversary of the death of St John Vianney. Talking with my friends, I
have discovered that none of us knew much about him. Who was he and why
is he so important?
By Fr John Flader
St John Vianney, whose full name was John-Baptist-Mary Vianney, was a French diocesan priest of the 19th century renowned for his holiness, and especially for his dedication to the sacrament of Penance. He is more commonly known as the Curé of Ars, because he was the parish priest, or curé, of the little village of Ars in southern France.
St John was born on May 8, 1786 in Dardilly, near Lyons, the third of six children. His solidly Catholic parents Matthieu and Marie had a farm and were very generous with the poor.
When the French Revolution, which began in 1789, forced priests into hiding, the Vianneys continued to attend Mass in private homes, even though it was illegal. Impressed by the generosity of the priests, who were risking their lives to serve the people, the young John Vianney looked on them as his heroes.
Because the French educational system was disrupted by the Revolution, John was taught to read and write by his older sister, and he spent much of the day working on the family farm.
At the age of 19 he was finally able to pursue his desire to be a priest and he went to the school which prepared boys for the priesthood run by Fr Balley, parish priest of Ecully. Being of only average intelligence and lacking in formal education, he struggled, especially with Latin, but with his intense desire to be a priest and Fr Balley’s patience, he persevered.
In 1812 he entered the seminary at Verrieres, where again he struggled with his studies and there was a real question about whether he should be ordained. An appeal was made to the Vicar General, who asked: “Is he pious?” “Yes”, he was told. “Ordain him”, the Vicar General replied. “The grace of God will do the rest.”
He was ordained a priest in 1815 and was assigned as assistant to Fr Balley at Ecully. In 1818, after the death of Fr Balley, Fr John was made parish priest of the little village of Ars, close to Lyons. There were only some 40 families in the parish and they were careless in their faith, given over to much drinking and to working in the fields on Sundays.
But the Curé set out to beg God for their salvation: “Grant me the conversion of my parish; I am willing to suffer whatever you wish, for my entire life!” In the early years in Ars, he spent a good part of his day praying in the church, so that the people knew where to find him.
His prayer life was accompanied by a very demanding life of penance, including deprivation of food and sleep, plus severe bodily mortifications, much of it offered for the people who went to confession to him. He would say: “I impose only a small penance on those who confess their sins properly; the rest I perform in their place.”
He was very generous with the poor and spent practically nothing on himself. A few years after going to Ars he established a home for destitute girls known as “The Providence”. This was his pride and joy and it became a model for similar institutions all over France. The Curé himself instructed the girls in the faith, and soon his catechetical instructions became so popular that he had to give them every day in the church to large crowds.
But the Curé was best known for his guidance of souls in the confessional. People came from everywhere to go to confession to him, often having to wait in long queues. By 1855, the number of pilgrims had reached 20,000 a year. During the last 10 years of his life, he spent 16 to 18 hours a day in the confessional. The saintly Curé died on August 4, 1859 at the age of 73.
Only 15 years later, in 1874, Pope Pius IX declared him Venerable, and he was canonised by Pope Pius XI in 1925. He is the patron saint of parish priests and confessors.