10 facts that every Catholic should know about the Holy Curé of Ars

“If I were a priest, I would want to conquer many souls,” Saint John Mary Vianney, also known as the Holy Curé of Ars, whose feast day is celebrated on August 4, once told his mother.

Here are 10 facts that perhaps you did not know about this diocesan priest, member of the Third Franciscan Order and patron of parish priests.

1. His first communion was eventful

The French Revolution brought persecution against priests, and even after it they had to disguise themselves to remain incognito. When young Juan received his first communion, they brought carts of hay, placed them in front of the windows of his mother’s house and began unloading the material during the ceremony to avoid problems with the authorities.

The saint will always remember this day, when he shed tears of joy upon receiving the Lord and treasured the Rosary that his mother gave him on that occasion.

2. He almost dropped out of seminary school

When the Church gained some freedom in France, Father Balley, parish priest of Ecculy, opened a small school for young people with vocational concerns. Juan managed to enter, but due to his difficulty in studying, he was on the verge of giving up. Consequently, the priest suggested that he make a pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of Saint Francis of Regis and so he did. The saint returned renewed.

3. He deserted the army

Napoleon wanted to conquer all of Europe and Juan was called up to the army because he did not appear in any seminary list. He fell seriously ill and, when he recovered his health, he went in search of his regiment which had already left, but on the way he fell ill again. He sought refuge for several days and realized that, unintentionally, he had become a deserter.

He looked for an older man who was hiding deserters and he advised him to stay at the house of one of his relatives. He adopted the name Jerome Vincent until an imperial decree later granted amnesty to deserters.

4. He was expelled from the seminary

Juan managed to enter the Major Seminary of Lyon, but due to his insufficient knowledge of Latin he did not understand nor could he respond to the trainers. They asked him to leave, which caused him immense pain and discouragement. However, P. Balley again came to his aid and continued his studies privately at Ecculy, near Lyon.

His moral qualities surpassed any academic deficiencies.

5. His teacher was his first penitent

Once ordained a priest he was sent to help Father Balley, but the diocesan authorities did not give him permission to confess. Father Balley interceded and he himself was the first to confess to Saint John Mary Vianney.

Years later Father Balley died in the arms of the saint, who suffered as if he had lost his father.

6. He had a prophecy in Ars

The ecclesiastical authorities sent him to the small town of Ars because they thought that with his intellectual limitations he would not be able to serve in a large community. However, upon arrival he made a prophecy: “the parish will not be able to contain the multitudes that will come here.”

Little by little the priest won the love of the people and instilled in them the love of the Eucharist, his favorite festival being Corpus Christi.

When Pope Pius IX defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, the saint asked the faithful to illuminate their homes at night and the temple bells rang for hours. People from nearby towns, upon seeing the flashes, thought that the town was burning and came to put out the supposed fire.

7. He had a deep devotion to Saint Philomena

Saint John had a deep devotion to Saint Philomena, a young martyr from the first centuries of Christianity, whom he called his “agent with God” and built a chapel in her honor and a sanctuary. One day he became seriously ill and promised to offer 100 Masses in honor of Saint Philomena.

When the first Mass was being offered, he fell into ecstasy and was heard murmuring “Filomena” several times. When he came to, he exclaimed that he was cured and attributed it to the saint.

8. Temptation was recurring in his life

The priest of Ars was tempted to desire solitude and felt incapable of the service he provided in the city. On one occasion he begged his Bishop to let him resign and on three occasions he even left the town, but he always returned.

9. He patiently fought against the demon

The demon always bothered the Holy Curé of Ars with strange and loud noises at night. His intention was to exhaust him so that he would not have the strength to confess or celebrate the Eucharist.

One day when the saint was preparing to dress for Holy Mass, the evil one set fire to his bed. Saint John, knowing that the enemy wanted to stop the divine office, gave the keys of the room to those who were going to put out the fire and continued.

“The villain, unable to catch the bird, sets fire to his cage,” was the only thing he said. Much later, the Lord awarded the saint with an extraordinary power to expel demons from possessed people.

10. He was never appointed parish priest

Everyone knows Saint John Mary Vianney with the title of Curé of Ars. “The opinion of some demanding canonist who will say, in our opinion with reason, that the Saint did not become legally true parish priest of Ars, not even in the last phase of his life, when Ars won in canonical consideration, matters little,” according to Explain Lamberto de Echeverría, author of the book The Holy Cura of Ars.

The Bishop of Belley only granted him the title of canon but “the real fact is that he consecrated practically his entire priestly life to the sanctification of the souls of the tiny town of Ars and that in this way he united, forever, his name and the fame of his holiness to that of the little town.”