Who is St. John Vianney?
John Mary Vianney was born of devout farming people on May 8, 1786, in the village of Dardilly, in the French diocese of Lyons. His boyhood was spent in the labors of farm life and because of these obligations, as well as the ravages of the French Revolution, John was able to obtain only a scant amount of formal schooling. At the age of nineteen he left home to begin his studies to become a priest. Due to the lack of formal education, John found his studies to be very difficult; but after imploring God’s help and working hard to complete his course in theology, he was finally judged fit to be ordained. John became Father Vianney on August 13, 1815 and became the assistant to his priestly mentor, Father Balley, in the village of Ecully. Two-and-a-half years later Father Vianney received an appointment to be the pastor of the parish of Ars. The Vicar General said to him, “There is not much love for God in that parish; you will bring some into it.” For forty-one years he poured himself ou
