8
year old Sophia LeGare, prays in
front of the heart of St. John
Vianney, displayed for
veneration at St. Mary's
Historic Seminary and Spiritual
Center in Baltimore. (Photo by
Rus VanWestervelt)
Major
relic of
priest
renowned
for
holiness
to visit
Detroit;
St. John
Vianney
is
offered
as a
model
for
today’s
priests
DETROIT
- A
major
relic of
France’s
St. John
Vianney,
who is
held up
as the
ideal
for
Catholic
priests,
will
visit
the
Archdiocese
of
Detroit
this
month as
part of
a
national
relic
pilgrimage
hosted
by the
Knights
of
Columbus.
The
tour has
been
dubbed
“Heart
of a
Priest,”
which
refers
to the
physical
heart of
John
Vianney
that has
resisted
decay
for more
than 150
years,
as well
as to
the good
character
all
priests
are
called
to
embrace.
The
saint’s
incorrupt
heart,
contained
in a
special
casing
and
visible
to the
faithful,
will be
available
for
public
veneration
at two
locations:
•
St. John
Vianney
Parish,
54045
Schoenherr
Road in
Shelby
Township
Saturday,
March 30
from 2-8
p.m.
with
Mass at
5 p.m.
• Sacred
Heart
Major
Seminary,
2701
Chicago
Boulevard
in
Detroit
Sunday,
March 31
from
11:30
a.m.-5
p.m.
Father
Tim
Mazur,
pastor
of St.
John
Vianney
Parish,
shared
his hope
that the
tour
would
open the
hearts
of the
faithful.
“Our
culture
is
longing
for
radical,
life-changing,
genuine
love –
the kind
of love
that
goes
beyond
just a
good
feeling
once in
a while,
but that
stays
with us
no
matter
what and
lifts us
up to be
our true
selves.
This
love
poured
from the
heart of
the Lord
to the
heart of
St. John
Vianney,”
Father
Mazur
said. “I
pray
that
this
time
with the
relic of
his
heart
will
inspire
and
encourage
all of
us to
open our
hearts
to that
kind of
radical
love,
and let
it pour
out of
us.”
Monsignor
Todd
Lajiness,
rector
of
Sacred
Heart
Major
Seminary,
called
it a
“tremendous
blessing”
to host
the
relic in
the
seminary’s
main
chapel.
"St.
John
Vianney
is a
model
for
priestly
devotion,”
he said.
“His
life
radiated
the love
and
mercy of
the
Father,
and it
is that
deep
love
that we
pray
touches
all of
our
hearts."
Father
Stephen
Pullis,
Director
of
Evangelization,
Catechesis
and
Schools
at the
archdiocese,
helped
arrange
for the
relic to
visit
southeast
Michigan.
“I
know
many
priests
and lay
faithful
are very
excited
for the
opportunity
to pray
with the
incorrupt
heart of
St. John
Vianney,”
Father
Pullis
said.
“We are
in the
midst of
a time
of great
trial
and
purification
in the
Church.
What
better
model of
priestly
holiness
and
dedication
to
priestly
service
can we
have
than the
patron
saint of
all
priests?
“I
am very
confident
that his
witness
and
intercession
will
bring
great
blessings
to the
Archdiocese
of
Detroit
and our
movement
to
Unleash
the
Gospel.”
The
relic
pilgrimage
was
announced
August
21 by
Knights
of
Columbus
Supreme
Knight
Carl
Anderson
in a
letter
to the
Catholic
organization’s
chaplains
and
members.
The
relic
pilgrimage
will run
well
into the
spring
and will
include
stops
throughout
the
country.
To
learn
more
about
the
relic
pilgrimage,
please
visit
kofc.org/vianney
About
St. John
Vianney
St. John
Vianney,
popularly
known as
the Curé
of Ars,
is
revered
as a
model of
priestly
generosity,
purity
and
prayerfulness.
Born in
France
in 1786,
he grew
up in a
time of
open
hostility
to the
Church
in the
wake of
the
French
Revolution,
when the
faith
was
attacked,
churches
were
destroyed
and
clergy
were
martyred.
Assigned
to lead
the
parish
in the
small
farming
community
of Ars,
Father
Vianney
excelled
at both
prayer
and
work.
He
was
famous
for
hearing
confessions
for up
to 18
hours a
day as
people
from
across
Europe
and
beyond
came to
see him.
His
notoriety
throughout
the
Catholic
world
grew
even
after
his
death in
1859,
and he
continues
to
inspire
a quest
for
holiness
by both
priests
and the
laity.
His
incorrupt
heart —
a major
relic —
normally
resides
at the
shrine
named
for him
in Ars.
About
relics
In
Catholic
tradition,
a relic
is a
physical
object
associated
with a
saint
that may
be
offered
to the
faithful
for
veneration.
Neither
the
relic
nor the
saint
are to
be
worshipped,
but are
rather
venerated
as holy
objects
in
recognition
of the
fact
that God
has
worked
through
the
saint. A
major or
first-class
relic
was part
of the
saint’s
body, as
opposed
to
something
that the
saint
touched
or wore.
The term
“incorrupt”
refers
to part
of a
human
body
that has
avoided
the
normal
process
of
decomposition
after
death.
It is a
sign —
but not
a proof
— of the
person’s
holiness,
and is
sometimes
seen in
Catholic
saints
and
blesseds.