John Vianney was beatified on January 8, 1905, by St. Pius X, who immediately made him the “patron saint of priests in France” in the context of the anti-clerical laws of the Third Republic in France. Pope Pius XI proclaimed Vianney a saint on May 31, 1925.
Four years later, he was proclaimed “patron saint of parish priests throughout the world.” Although the plan to make him the patron saint of all priests at the end of the 2009-2010 priestly year was ultimately rejected, he remains a reference point in the magisterium of the popes.
It’s an astonishing destiny for this seemingly fragile man, who hadn’t been to school and didn’t feel worthy of becoming a priest. However, he was able to immerse himself in a powerful relationship with God's mercy and to make it accessible to the 258 souls of this village, previously known for being unreceptive to the Christian faith.
Missionary reach far beyond his human stature
The Curé of Ars (as he is often called; it means “parish priest of Ars”) ultimately came to shine far beyond his mission territory. This commune in the Ain region now welcomes 300,000 pilgrims a year, including many priests. They find there a great source of comfort in the face of the trials and tribulations of their priesthood.
“Behind this little man, who was 5'1" and weighed about 100 pounds, there was something monumental, the figure of an extraordinary priest," explains Father Rémi Griveaux, rector of the Ars shrine since 2020.
This observation is echoed in the words of Pius XI in his homily at the canonization Mass.
"We seem to see before our eyes the frail figure of John Baptist Vianney, his head with long white hair that flows like a shining crown; his thin face hollowed out by fasting, but which so well reflected the innocence and holiness of a very humble and gentle heart, that face whose mere appearance was enough to bring the crowds back to salutary thoughts,“ Pius XI declared at the time.
A priest “filled with Christ”
His successor, Pius XII, remarked in 1946, in a pastoral exhortation addressed to the parish priests of Rome, that "the holy Curé of Ars certainly did not have the natural genius (...) of a Bossuet, but the lively, clear, and profound conviction that animated him vibrated in his words, shone in his eyes, and suggested to his imagination and sensitivity accurate, appropriate, and delightful ideas, images, and comparisons (...). Those who are filled with Christ will not find it difficult to win others to Christ," he emphasized.
St. John XXIII, for his part, dedicated an entire encyclical to the Curé of Ars, Sacerdotii Nostri Primordia, published in 1959 on the centenary of his death. The “good Pope” had been apostolic nuncio to France and was well aware of the difficulties faced by the local clergy. He quoted St. John Vianney's words to his bishop: “If you want to convert your whole diocese, then all of the parish priests must become holy.” He also invited people to entrust themselves to the holy Curé of Ars in order to pray for priestly vocations, which were already becoming scarce at the end of the 1950s.
“Priests must ask the holy Curé of Ars for the joy of devoting themselves first and foremost to the salvation of souls,” Paul VI declared in 1977 to a group of French bishops, in a decade marked by numerous defections from the ranks of the clergy in the midst of international social and cultural upheaval.
“A religion of happiness”
During his long pontificate, John Paul II drew heavily on the Curé of Ars, considering him “a model in his person and in his ministry.” He visited Ars in October 1986, insisting to priests on their responsibility for transmitting the salvation offered by God. St. John Vianney "never ceased to warn his faithful, especially the lukewarm, indifferent, sinful, and unbelieving, of the risk they ran for their salvation by refusing to follow the path of faith and love laid out by the Savior; he wanted to prevent them from falling, from being lost, from being separated from the Light and Love forever," declared the Polish pope.
In 2009, in a message for the international priestly retreat organized in Ars, Benedict XVI emphasized that John Vianney presented “a religion of joy,” not a religion of suffering and sacrifice. “What is fundamental is pastoral charity and self-giving, the gift of the pastor in the gift of Christ,” explains the current pastor of Ars, Father Rémi Griveaux.
Outreach to the peripheries
Pope Francis, who welcomed the relics of the Curé of Ars to his cathedral in Buenos Aires in 2009, showed his attachment to this saint in several of his speeches. During the Angelus prayer on August 4, 2019, he presented him as “an example of kindness and charity for all priests.” “May the witness of this humble parish priest wholly dedicated to his people help us to rediscover the beauty and importance of the priestly ministry in contemporary society,” said Francis.
Father Griveaux also sees in the Curé of Ars a model of attention to the “peripheries” dear to the Argentine pontiff. “He went door to door, he visited families, he wanted to reopen schools even though he himself had not been to school,” he recalls.
While it’s still too early to find references to the Curé of Ars in the teachings of Pope Leo XIV, it’s likely that he will refer to him during the Jubilee of Priests to be held in Rome from June 27 to 29.
In the face of the doubts that plague some priests, Father Griveaux sees in St. John Vianney a modern and inspiring figure, inviting us to return to the heart of priestly commitment.
“The whole root of the Curé of Ars's action is to lead souls to God. We are what we are before God,” he concludes.
