St. John Vianney Prayer Card (PC-42)

PC-42 — St. John Vianney Prayer Card

The Curé of Ars — who almost failed to become a priest, and became the greatest confessor in history

The story of St. John Vianney is one of the most improbable in the history of the Catholic Church. Born in 1786 near Lyon, France, he came of age during the French Revolution — making his First Communion in secret in a neighbor's kitchen, with the windows covered so candles couldn't be seen from outside. He was pulled into Napoleon's army, went into hiding, struggled terribly with Latin, failed his seminary entrance exams, was nearly barred from ordination — and then, after all of that, was sent to the smallest, most insignificant village in his diocese: a forgotten hamlet called Ars with just 230 residents and almost no religious practice to speak of.

Within years, people were walking from across France to wait in line — sometimes for three days — just to go to confession with him. By the end of his life, St. John Vianney was spending sixteen to eighteen hours a day in the confessional, hearing the sins of up to 300 people a day, reading souls with supernatural insight, knowing what had been withheld, speaking the exact word each penitent needed to hear. Ars had become known as "the great hospital of souls." When he died on August 4, 1859, six thousand people attended his funeral — including three hundred priests.

Pope Pius XI canonized him in 1925 and in 1929 declared him the patron saint of all parish priests throughout the world. His feast day is August 4th. His most quoted counsel remains as urgent as ever: "The priesthood is the love of the Heart of Jesus."

This St. John Vianney Prayer Card is an indispensable gift for priests, seminarians, and anyone who wants to pray for the priests in their life.

Perfect for: Priests, seminarians, ordination gifts, priest appreciation, August 4th feast day, vocations ministry, parishes named after him, and anyone praying for holy priests.