St. John Vianney

St. John Vianney, Priest (Patron of priests)
Feast day - August 4
Universally known as the "Cure of Ars,"

St. John Mary Vianney was ordained a priest in 1815. Three years later he was made parish priest of Ars, a remote French hamlet, where his reputation as a confessor and director of souls made him known throughout the Christian world. His life was one of extreme mortification. Sleeping only two hours each night, John Vianney arose each day at 1 a.m. and began to hear confessions. He remained in a small confessional for 13-17 hours each day.

Accustomed to the most severe austerities, and besieged by the devil, this great mystic manifested a heroic patience. The Cure of Ars was routinely awoken by the devil, who assaulted him with deafening noises, insulting conversation, and physical abuse. These diabolical visitations were occasionally witnessed with alarm by the men of the parish, but the pious Vianney accepted these attacks as a matter of course and often joked about them. He was a wonderworker loved by the crowds, but he retained a childlike simplicity, and he remains to this day the living image of the priest after the heart of Christ.

He was given many Spiritual gifts, such as the gift of healing, and the ability to read souls. His life was filled with works of charity and love. It is recorded that even the staunchest of sinners were converted at his mere word. St. John died peacefully on August 4, 1859. His body was exhumed because of his impending beatification, and was found dried and darkened, but perfectly entire. He was canonized on May 31, 1925.