The Consoler of Struggling Souls

Last updated on: December 24, 2014 at 10:45 am by Tony Rossi

The Consoler of Struggling Souls 2014-12-24T10:45:32-05:00 Tony Rossi

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The following column was written by The Christophers’ Jerry Costello:

Here’s something you can do for your parish priest: congratulate him on his feast day. It’s coming up soon; August 4, to be exact. It’s actually the feast day of St. John Vianney, but since he’s the patron saint of the thousands of parish priests all over the world, in a real way it’s a special day for each and every one of them.

The day falls this year on a Sunday, so the feast itself might be overlooked. That would be too bad, since St. John Vianney, a parish priest himself, is so special he ought to be remembered. And by the way, referring to St. John Vianney as a parish priest is akin to thinking of St. Paul as just another missionary. He set the bar so high that it probably will never be equaled.

St. Jean-Baptiste Marie Vianney came to his calling in the wake of the violently anti-Catholic French Revolution, when many Catholics–priests, religious men and women, lay people–received the crown of martyrdom. But what would follow was a flowering of the Catholic faith, particularly in France, and St. John Vianney was at its vanguard.

Born in 1786 in Lyons to devout Catholic parents, he was known as the Curé of Ars, after the village to which he was assigned once he was ordained a priest. There he went to work, and once word began to spread about his amazing abilities as a confessor and a counselor, he was swamped with penitents. As I wrote about him a few years ago (in Our Sunday Visitor’s Treasury of Catholic Stories):

“The numbers stagger the imagination, but they are accurate–20,000 visitors to the small town of Ars-en-Dombes, just to hear his words of advice; the Curé himself spending up to 18 hours a day in the confessional, just to console struggling souls…”

It might have sounded impossible, and indeed it did to some of Father Vianney’s fellow priests–whose complaints found their way to the local bishop.

“Is that so? the bishop responded. In that case, he added, it’s too bad that a few more priests didn’t have a touch of exactly the same thing.”

St. John Vianney began his day at the improbable hour of 1 a.m. and filled it with confessions, lessons, the Mass and private prayer. It was only a few yards from church to rectory, where he would take a noontime meal, but so many people wanted his blessing or a few words of comfort that it took him a while to get there. After an hour (at the most) of private time, it was back to the confessional until perhaps 8 p.m., and then, after a personal meeting or two and more prayer, he might get to sleep at 9:30 or 10–for what would be a short night indeed.

He was 73 when he died in 1859, and the Church quickly paid public tribute to his extraordinary priesthood. Pope Pius XI canonized him in 1925, and recognized him as the patron of all parish priests four years later. In 1986, the 200th anniversary of his birth, Pope John Paul II visited the little town of Ars, and the “Year of the Priest,” from 2009 to 2010, was placed under his patronage by Pope Benedict XVI.

After all these years, St. John Vianney remains a model for priests everywhere. May they still follow his example–and may they all have a blessed day on August 4!

Previous Post

July 25, 2013

The Disability That's Not So Much of a Disability, After All

Next Post

August 2, 2013 It's Good to be a King

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Act One American Idol Andy Griffith Show Audrey Assad Baseball Bible Books Catholic Charities Christmas Christopher Awards Christopher Closeup Christopher News Notes Current Events Down syndrome Education Father Jonathan Morris Father Keller Films Forgiveness Fringe Government Hallmark History Holidays Humor Inspiration Leadership Lost Marriage Media Medical Military Movies Music NY Med Once Upon a Time Once Upon a Time Parenting Patheos Movie Club Person of Interest Politics Pope Francis Prayer Pro Life Saints Senior Citizens Signed Sealed Delivered Special Needs Sports Three Minutes a Day TV Uncategorized Volunteering Women Youth

Select a Month March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was Abraham's brother?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Nahor Jacob Lot Isaac