Oct

5

The Heart of St. John Marie Baptiste Vianney will be in New York and Boston

October 5, 2006 |

The heart of a revered 19th-century clergyman is being brought to New York and Boston from its resting place in Ars, France, in hopes that veneration of the relic will inspire more men to join the depleted ranks of the Roman Catholic priesthood.

St. John Marie Baptiste Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, died in 1859. His heart, enclosed in a glass case, is being brought to the United States by Bishop Guy Bagnard of the Diocese of Belley-Ars. After five days at a church on Long Island, it will be brought to the Archdiocese of Boston for veneration and prayer at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton, St. Mary’s Parish in Waltham, and the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston’s South End. Many of the events will be open to the public. And I am sure if anyone can make it to venerate the relic of Saint John Marie Baptiste Vianney, they would get many graces.

St. John Vianney became an exemplar for parish priests not just because of his eventual accomplishments, but also because of his humble origins as one of six children in a poor farm family in a village north of Lyon. In order to become Ordained it took him several years of study, as he had little education and was terrible in Latin. He founded an orphanage for destitute girls that became a model throughout France. He ate sparingly, gave away almost everything he had, and was so devoted to hearing confessions, counseling penitents, and granting absolution, according to church records, that he often spent more than 16 hours a day in the confessional booth. Vianney was renowned for deep devotion to the pastoral duties of priests and was believed to possess healing powers and the ability to read the hearts of penitents.

I regret that I will not be able to venerate the relic myself and touch my rosary to it. This is the second time the heart has been outside of France, the first being May 1925 for the saint’s canonization. If you plan to visit the heart of St. Vianney, you will be expected to genuflect and kneel in prayer. Most will be praying to God for more ordained priests. You should be able to visit the heart of St. Vianney in New York (Saturday, October 7) and Boston (October 12-14)  2006.


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