AMDG
In 2019 the Knights of Columbus sponsored a national pilgrimage tour of the relics (left behind remains) of St. John Vianney, including his incorrupt heart (a first class relic), to promote his life and to honor the pivotal importance of the parish priest. The founder of the Knights of Columbus, Blessed Michael McGibney, was a parish priest and most council chaplains are parish priests.
They conducted this promotion by sponsoring a national tour of the
relics of St. John Vianney, particularly his incorrupt heart, considered to be
the core of the person. Hopefully, the
tour has been a source of graces and personal holiness, inspiring people to
defend the faith, to pray for and support our parish priests…..repent, reform,
rebuild. All that is part of the mission
of the Knights of Columbus.
At one church, knights led the rosary and the Litany of the Holy Spirit. Each hour was dedicated to a different theme: Conversion and Personal Holiness, Sanctification of Bishops and Priests, and Perseverance and Holiness of Seminarians. The hour began with short readings from John Vianney’s writings, except for one “replacement” with St. John Paul II’s Letter on the Curé of Ars to All Priests of the Church.
Father Patrice Chocholski, rector of the
Shrine of Ars and St. Jean Vianney’s successor as Curé d’Ars, gave reflections
each hour on different aspects of the saint’s life and his extraordinary
charism concerning the sacrament of Confession.
He quoted St. John Vianney: “The saints don’t all start well, but they
finish well.” In the saint’s case, “he
was aware of walking with Jesus all the time,”
Beautiful
is the official statement of the Knights of Columbus: "The heart
is a symbol of love, courage and commitment, and serves as the most evident
sign of life within a person. In the case of St. Jean Marie Vianney, popularly
known as the Curé of Ars, his incorrupt heart is also a sign of great
holiness that holds a message of hope for those who approach it today for
veneration." —Knights of Columbus
The reliquary containing the incorrupt heart of St. John Vianney
Entrusted
to the Knights of Columbus by the Shrine of Ars, France where his incorrupt
heart and body are displayed, this relic went on a national six month tour of
the USA. Thousands of pilgrims in long lines venerated him, named the patron
saint of parish priests after his canonization in 1925. Similarly, we honor the physical objects
associated with our departed loved ones.
His holiness and integrity are a model for clergy and laity alike. He faced obstacles with trust in the
Lord. They called the
campaign, “The Heart of a Priest”. Who was St. John Vianney?
On August 4, we celebrated the feast day of St. John Vianney, who from the world’s perspective was headed to obscurity. Born into a poor but devout farm family, St. John felt the call to the priesthood at an early age. After the French Revolution and its violent persecution of Christians, a reign of terror forced priests into hiding in order to minister the sacraments and secretly say Mass.
By 1802, the Church in France was reestablished, but in recovery. St. John entered the seminary, but struggled with the academics, particularly Latin and understanding Theology, but his holiness was recognized. He barely made it through the seminary and was ordained in 1815. A post in an affluent parish or university in Paris was out of the question.
Thus they assigned him to an obscure rural
village parish of Ars (population 214), so remote that he got lost trying to find it.
The parish church did not have a priest and was in disrepair while the
people had drifted from the faith in religious ignorance and indifference. He had the mission of starting from scratch in
teaching the faith. He spoke out against
profane dancing and withheld absolution to those unwilling to give it up.
The priest’s gentle manner and wise counsel soon brought souls back to Christ. His ability to read souls, compassion for sinners, and understanding of human nature was a big help. His deep devotion to Mary earned him the title of "Mary’s priest". He sometimes heard confessions for 18 hours a day as people from across Europe came to seek guidance from a man gifted with reading hearts.
Even his little time for sleep was marred by demonic harassment. The winter cold made it very difficult in the unheated church. “People went not to see Jean Vianney, they went to see Christ and they met Him in the confessional and the altar,” Bishop Olson insisted. “And [Jean Vianney] worked for them not as himself, but as Christ’s humble steward.” He is also the patron saint of confessors.
By 1855 the number of
pilgrims traveling to this obscure church reached 20,000 penitents per year. St. John Vianney was so much in demand that
the Bishop forbade him from taking off to attend the diocesan priestly
retreats. Even priests came to him for
guidance.
Jean
Vianney’s whole being was attuned to the mercy of God, which came like an overflowing
stream. He was the first to experience the Divine Mercy which he then brought
to countless others who streamed to his confessional in Ars to “experience the
love and mercy of God.”
Miraculous is the incident of a woman devastated by the suicide of her husband. She desperately sought out St. John Vianney, but the throngs of people prevented that. In a moment of great insight the great confessor shouted: “He’s in Purgatory; pray for him”. Apparently, the woman’s husband repented on the way down from the bridge to the water. During the last moments before death time stops!
He was a champion of the poor as a Franciscan tertiary (Third Order) and was a recipient of the coveted French Legion of Honour awarded by the government of France. Humility, self-discipline, fasting, and sacrifice were his life. Despite honors, he saw himself only as the instrument of God's goodness.
To commemorate the centenary of John Vianney's death in 1959, Pope John XXIII issued the encyclical letter Sacerdotii nostri primordia. St. John Paul II visited Ars in 1986 in connection with the bicentenary of Vianney's birth and referred to him as a "rare example of a pastor acutely aware of his responsibilities ... and a sign of courage for those who today experience the grace of being called to the priesthood." In observance of the 150th anniversary of Vianney's death Pope Benedict XVI declared 2009–2010 a Year of the Priest, beginning on the Feast of the Sacred Heart, a day traditionally devoted to prayer for the sanctification of priests. Its purpose was to encourage priests to strive for spiritual perfection. The Curé d'Ars is "a true example of a pastor at the service of Christ's flock."
As Joe Bollig explained in his article, "The heart receives special veneration because in Scripture it is considered to be a person's hidden center of emotional, intellectual and moral activity. Saint John Vianney is said to have lived his life according to the heart of Christ and united his heart to Christ's." By the end of the six month tour, "the relic traveled almost 36,000 miles [58,000 km]—almost one and a half times the circumference of the Earth—and was available for over 1,200 hours of public veneration."
Clearly, God does not give great intellectual gifts to some, but compensates for that with other gifts to serve Him and His people. St. John Vianney was no great intellectual, but he had the great gift of being able to read hearts, communicate love, and empathize with the spiritual struggles of people. Thus St. John Vianney was one of the greatest confessors of all time, a model for all priests and their patron saint.
