Today, August 4, is the memorial of Saint Jean-Marie-Baptiste Vianney.
Patron saint of parish priests.
Jean-Marie-Baptiste was born in 1786 to a farm family. He was ordained in 1815, after much difficulty. He had a hard time with his studies, which in those days were entirely in Latin. He failed his pre-ordination exams twice.
As he was seen as a not-so-bright priest, he was later assigned to the tiny parish of Ars-sur-Formans, France. That parish was notorious for its poor attendance and indifferent parishioners. And so he began visiting his parishioners, especially the sick and poor. He spent his days praying before the Blessed Sacrament and to the Blessed Virgin Mary, was devoted to St. Philomena, did penance for his parishioners, and led his people by example.
He fasted most of the time and, during the times he would eat, he subsisted on dry bread and boiled potatoes. He wore old clothes and slept on an uncomfortable bed.
As he led a holy life and converted many sinners, he became a target of the devil. Confirmed reports have it that the devil was so angry for losing so many souls due to the priest’s works and holiness, the evil one set the poor priest’s bed on fire. When Jean tried to sleep, the devil and his cohorts would attack him with punches, indecent language, and noise. To think that he only had two to three hours of sleep each night!
His waking hours were spent hearing confessions. He would spend up to 17 hours inside the hot and cramped confessional, starting confessions as early as 1A.M. As he was heavenly gifted with the ability to read the hearts and minds of his penitents, crowds came by the thousands. Penitents numbering up to over 100,000 went on pilgrimages to Ars just to confess to him. They were simple people, famous founders, statesmen, religious, priests, and bishops. They would come out of the confessional renewed, converted. He spent 40 years as the parish priest.
Physical exhaustion contributed to the death of the beloved Cure of Ars in 1859. He was beatified in 1905 by Pope St. Pius X. He was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1925.
His incorrupt body, with the face now covered with wax, is displayed above the main altar at the Basilica of Ars in France.