Saint John Vianney
The parish priest of Ars, who spent his life hearing confessions and teaching
- Rank
- Saint
- Kind
- Priest
- Life
- 1786 – 1859
- Era
- 19th century
- Feast
- 4 August
- Countries
- France
Life story
John Vianney was born on 8 May 1786 at Dardilly, near Lyon, into a farming family. His youth fell in the years of the French Revolution, when public worship was restricted. He began his studies for the priesthood rather late, struggled with Latin, and was conscripted and then absent from his unit for a time before an amnesty cleared his position.
He was ordained priest on 13 August 1815 at Grenoble. In 1818 the bishop of Lyon sent him as parish priest to Ars, a small parish some thirty kilometres from Lyon where religious practice had declined. He lived simply, visited his parishioners, founded a home for orphaned girls known as La Providence, and taught catechism in plain language to all.
From about the 1830s people came to Ars from many places to confess to him, at times tens of thousands in a single year. According to witnesses he spent many hours a day in the confessional, especially in his later years. He repeatedly wished to leave Ars for a hidden life but in the end stayed.
He died at Ars on 4 August 1859. He was beatified in 1905 and canonised in 1925. In 1929 Pius XI named him patron of parish priests worldwide. His reputation spread well beyond the diocese, and in his later years visitors arrived in such numbers that transport and lodging had to be arranged for them. According to those who knew him, he lived on very little and gave most of what he received to the poor and to his orphanage.
Works and witness
- Parish priest of Ars from 1818 until his death in 1859
- Founded La Providence, a home for orphaned girls
- Drew many pilgrims to confess at Ars
- Canonised in 1925
Patron of
Parish priests worldwide
Saints from the same country
References
- Martyrologium Romanum
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints – biographical profile
- Procès de béatification et canonisation de Jean-Marie-Baptiste Vianney
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.