Shrine of St. John Vianney (Ars)

The Story

The Shrine of St. John Vianney in Ars-sur-Formans, a small village near Lyon in France, preserves the memory and the body of the humble parish priest known to the world as the Cure of Ars. The sanctuary includes the old parish church where he ministered and the basilica built alongside it, where his body rests in a glass reliquary above a side altar. John Marie Vianney was born near Lyon in 1786, in the years of the French Revolution when the faith was practiced in secret. A poor student who struggled through seminary, he was sent in 1818 to Ars, a parish of little more than two hundred souls where religious practice had grown cold. He gave himself to prayer, penance, and tireless pastoral care, and slowly the village was transformed. His reputation as a confessor spread across France. In the final years of his life, tens of thousands of pilgrims traveled to Ars each year, and he is said to have spent up to sixteen hours a day in the confessional, reading hearts and reconciling sinners to God. He died in 1859, worn out by his labors. John Vianney was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1925 and declared the heavenly patron of parish priests. His body, which was found remarkably preserved, is venerated in the basilica at Ars, and the village remains a major destination for pilgrimages, especially for priests and seminarians seeking the intercession of their patron.

Church Recognition

St. John Vianney was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1925 and named the patron of parish priests in 1929; his body is venerated in the Basilica of Ars, and the sanctuary is an officially recognized place of pilgrimage in the Diocese of Belley-Ars.

Catholic Teaching

The Cure of Ars embodies the Church's teaching on the ministerial priesthood and the sacrament of Penance, through which Christ himself forgives sins (CCC 1461-1467, 1548); the preservation of his body, reported at his exhumation, is honored within the Church's tradition of venerating the relics of the saints (CCC 1674).

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Practical

1 Additional Information ▾

The basilica preserves the incorrupt body of St. John Vianney; a major site for priestly pilgrimages.

Go Deeper

The official website of the Sanctuary of Ars, https://www.arsnet.org, offers pilgrimage information in English; readers may also explore Pope Benedict XVI's letter proclaiming the Year for Priests (2009), which held up the Cure of Ars as a model, and the Catechism on the sacrament of Penance (CCC 1422-1470).