Vianney

St. John Vianney

Patronage: Parish Priests
Feast Day: August 4th
Born in Dardilly, France on May 8, 1786, St. John Vianney grew up during the French Revolution.  At the age of 29 he was ordained to the priesthood. He quickly realized that because of the persecution that the church endured during the revolution, many of the French citizens were uneducated and apathetic in their faith.  As a priest he would spend 11 to 12 hours a day in the confessional. His fame as a confessor spread and people began to travel to him. He regularly would receive up to 20,000 pilgrims each year. He died on May 8, 1859. Pope Pius XI canonized him on May 31, 1925.