Saint John Mary Vianney, Confessor (1962 Roman Calendar)

Saint John Mary Vianney was born in 1786 at Dardilly, near Lyons, in France, of a devout peasant family, in the troubled years before the great upheaval that would close the churches of his land. His early instruction in the faith was gained in secret, in the days when priests were hunted, and from his childhood he longed to serve God at the altar. The way to the priesthood was hard for him, for he found study, and especially Latin, exceedingly difficult; yet by perseverance, humility, and prayer he overcame every obstacle, and after long struggles he was at last ordained a priest.

The Curé of Ars

Some years after his ordination he was sent as parish priest to Ars, a small and obscure village whose people had grown cold in the faith. There Saint John Mary would remain for the rest of his life, and there he wrought, by the grace of God, a great work of renewal. He gave himself to severe fasting and penance, to long hours of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, and to the patient instruction of his people; he preached plainly and from the heart, warred against vice and indifference, and slowly drew his parish back to the fervent practice of the faith.

Above all, Saint John Mary became renowned as a confessor. God gave him a singular gift of reading hearts and of guiding souls, and as his fame spread, pilgrims came from every part of France and beyond, in such numbers that for many years he spent long hours each day — in the end, by report, fifteen and more — hearing confessions in his church, counselling, consoling, and reconciling sinners to God. He bore patiently great bodily weariness, and, as the tradition relates, many trials and assaults of the enemy of souls, never ceasing from his labour for the salvation of those who sought him.

His holy death

Worn out at last by his unceasing toil and austerities, Saint John Mary Vianney died at Ars on the fourth of August, 1859, mourned by the countless souls he had served. He was canonised in the twentieth century and named the heavenly patron of parish priests throughout the world, a model held up to all who have the care of souls.

The collect of his feast praises God, who made Saint John Mary wonderful in his pastoral zeal and ever fervent in prayer and penance, and prays that by his example and intercession we may win the souls of our brethren for Christ and attain everlasting glory with them. His feast is kept on the eighth of August.

The Collect

Almighty and merciful God, who didst make blessed John Mary wonderful in his pastoral zeal and his unceasing devotion to prayer and penance: grant, we beseech thee, that by his example and intercession we may be able to gain the souls of our brethren for Christ, and together with them attain unto everlasting glory.

Omnípotens et miséricors Deus, qui beátum Ioánnem Maríam pastoráli stúdio et assídua oratióne ac pœniténtia mirábilem effécisti: da, quæsumus; ut, eius exémplo et intercessióne, ánimas fratrum lucrári Christo, et cum eis ætérnam glóriam cónsequi valeámus.

Patronage

He is venerated as the patron of parish priests and is invoked by confessors and by all who have the care of souls.

In the Modern Calendar

In the modern calendar his memorial is observed on 4 August, the day of his death.

Common Questions

When is the feast of Saint John Mary Vianney?

In the calendar of the 1962 Roman Missal his feast is kept on 8 August as a Third Class feast. In the modern calendar his memorial is observed on 4 August, the anniversary of his death.

Who was Saint John Mary Vianney?

He was a French priest of the nineteenth century, known as the Curé of Ars, who as parish priest of a small village renewed its faith through his preaching, penance, and prayer. Above all he was renowned as a confessor, spending many hours each day reconciling the pilgrims who flocked to him. He died in 1859 and is the patron of parish priests.

Why is he the patron of parish priests?

Though he had found study difficult and served all his life in an obscure village, Saint John Mary embodied the holiness, zeal, and self-sacrifice of the good shepherd, drawing innumerable souls back to God chiefly through the confessional. For this the Church named him the heavenly patron of parish priests and a model for all who have the care of souls.

See where this feast falls in the Church’s year on the liturgical calendar, or find a Traditional Latin Mass near you.

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