Saint of the Day: St. John Vianney

Priest (1786-1859)

His life

+ Born near Lyons, France, John received little formal education because of the turbulence of the French Revolution. He faced many challenges while studying for the priesthood and only barely met the requirements for ordination.

+ Ordained a priest in 1815, he was assigned as curé of the village of Ars. After arriving at the parish, he began to restore the parish church and set out on an intensive pastoral program of preaching, teaching, and visit the sick.

+ A beloved and sought-after confessor, John Vianney was also known as a worker of miracles. He attributed the conversion of the parish and the miracles to the intercession of the virgin and martyr Saint Philomena, to whom he had a great devotion.

+ Saint John Vianney died in 1859 and was canonized in 1925. He is honored as the patron of priests.

For prayer and reflection

“Prayer is to the soul what rain is to the soil.”—Saint John Vianney

Spiritual bonus

On this day, we remember Blessed Enrico Angelo Anglelli Carletti. A priest of the diocese of Córdoba, Argentina, he became auxiliary bishop of that diocese in 1960 and was among the bishops who took part in the Second Vatican Council. Appointed bishop of La Rioja, Argentina, by Pope Saint Paul VI, he supported the formation labor unions and farm cooperatives for the benefit of the poor and he opposed the unchecked privileges of the ruling classes. Because of his work, he was targeted by government officials and he was captured and beaten to death by the side of the road near the village of Punta de los Llanos on August 4, 1976. When he was killed, he was returning from a celebrating a Mass in El Chamical offered for two martyred priests who were also victims of Argentina’s “Dirty war”: Blessed Carlos de Dios Murias and Blessed Gabriel Longueville. Blessed Enrico was beatified in 2019.

Prayer

Almighty and merciful God,
who made the Priest Saint John Vianney
wonderful in his pastoral zeal,
grant, we pray,
that through his intercession and example
we may in charity win brothers and sisters for Christ
and attain with them eternal glory.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.