Cure d'Ars

Fr. Scott Haynes

A Meditation for the Feast of St. John Vianney

August 8

1. His First Holy Communion Was Made in Secret and at Great Risk

During the French Revolution, the Church in France was under violent persecution. Priests were hunted down, churches desecrated, and the Sacraments forbidden. John Vianney, born into this chaos, received his First Holy Communion in secret.

He was just about thirteen years old, and the local priests who had refused to take the revolutionary oath of loyalty to the state had gone into hiding. Masses were held clandestinely in barns, attics, or the forests. John's catechism classes were often interrupted by scouts warning of incoming soldiers.

His First Communion was offered in a farmhouse with windows covered and only the flickering of candlelight to guide them. He later recalled how deeply moved he was to be so close to Jesus under such conditions of danger and reverence. This experience left a lifelong impression on him. It helped form his deep sense of the sacred and of the value of the priesthood. He once said, “If we really understood the Mass, we would die of joy.”¹

2. He Went into Hiding Rather Than Fight in Napoleon’s Army

In 1809, John Vianney was drafted into Napoleon’s army. France, at that time, was embroiled in endless wars across Europe. But John had no interest in fighting—he believed his duty was to serve God, not to bear arms. Though not a radical pacifist, his conscience would not let him engage in the brutality of war.

Assigned to a military post in Roanne, he fell ill shortly after arrival. During this time, he was left behind as his unit marched forward into Spain. When he recovered, a stranger (likely a royalist sympathizer) guided him to a small village in the mountains called Les Noes, where he lived for over a year under an assumed name.

There he hid in a cabin and spent his days reading religious texts and preparing for the priesthood. This period of forced isolation became, in God’s providence, a kind of desert retreat. He later compared his time there to St. John the Baptist’s time in the wilderness.

Ironically, because he was a deserter, he could have been executed if caught. But after an imperial pardon, he returned to his studies. This delay, though humiliating, was turned by God into a hidden season of spiritual growth.

3. He Was Almost Denied Ordination for Being “Too Ignorant”

John Vianney struggled terribly in seminary, especially with Latin. His instructors considered him too slow to understand the philosophical and theological curriculum. One professor even said, “He knows no Latin. He will know no theology. He is a dunce!”

But John’s mentor, the wise and holy Abbé Balley, knew that holiness—not brilliance—was the true measure of a priest. He advocated on John’s behalf. Eventually, after much deliberation and testing, the bishop agreed to ordain him—not because of his intellect but because of his character.

This priest—nearly rejected—would go on to become the patron saint of parish priests throughout the world.

4. He Was Haunted by the Devil at Night

For 35 years, St. John Vianney was tormented by the devil almost nightly. He called the devil le grappin, or “the grappling hook.” The noises would begin with scratching, banging on the walls, and even his bed being lifted and shaken.

Once, the devil set fire to his bed while Vianney was hearing confessions. When he returned to his room, the fire had consumed everything—except the canopy under which his breviary rested.

Vianney understood these attacks as signs that he was stealing souls from the devil through confession and prayer. Rather than complain, he sometimes joked: “The devil is not very clever. He disturbs me only when I am doing something important.”

5. He Wept Over the Priesthood—Not Because He Was One, But Because He Felt Unworthy

Despite his worldwide fame and holiness, Vianney often tried to flee Ars. He did not see himself as worthy of his vocation. He wrote letters asking to be transferred to a monastery to spend the rest of his life in penance and solitude.

In fact, he attempted to run away from Ars four separate times.

What held him back was not fear or despair—but love. He realized that the people needed a shepherd. And even if he considered himself the poorest and weakest priest, he understood that God had chosen him. His submission to God's will over his personal desire for obscurity is a powerful lesson in humility.

6. He Had a Special Love for Children

While Vianney is most famous for converting hardened sinners and hearing confessions from bishops and soldiers alike, he had a tender heart for children. He saw their innocence and natural openness to God. He would catechize them himself, speak to them with gentleness, and often tailor his preaching to be understood by the young.

Once a visitor, after hearing him preach to children, said: “He talks to them like a grandfather telling stories by the fire.”

7. His Tears Could Melt the Coldest Hearts

Vianney often wept during Mass and at the confessional—not for show, but out of a profound sense of God's mercy. His whole face would glow with a kind of childlike awe, especially during the elevation of the Host. People said he looked as if he could see Christ with the eyes of his soul.

His confessions brought hardened criminals and atheists to repentance, not by eloquence but by purity of heart and the intensity of his love. He could simply say, “You have offended a good God,” and the penitent would break into tears.

Closing Reflection

St. John Vianney’s early life teaches us that God chooses the humble, the slow of speech, the weak of body—but those with burning love. His courage in the face of persecution, his hidden sanctity while evading military service, and his fidelity despite demonic attacks all show us the path of sanctity is not straight or smooth—but it is real.

We too may feel inadequate or unworthy. But God doesn't ask for perfection—He asks for surrender.

“A priest goes to Heaven or a priest goes to Hell with a thousand people behind him.”²—St. John Vianney

Footnotes

1. Quoted in Francis Trochu, The Cure d'Ars: St. Jean-Marie-Baptiste Vianney (Rockford, IL: TAN Books, 1977), 127.

2. Ibid., 252.