What is a "Year For Priests"?

On March 16, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI announced...

"Precisely to encourage priests in this striving for spiritual perfection on which, above all, the effectiveness of their ministry depends, I have decided to establish a special "Year for Priests" that will

begin on 19 June 2009 and last until 19 June 2010."

_________________________________________________________

On June 18, 2009, the Pope addressed all priests...

"On the forthcoming Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Friday 19 June 2009 - a day traditionally devoted to prayer for the sanctification of the clergy - I have decided to inaugurate a "Year for Priests" in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the "dies natalis" of John Mary Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests worldwide. This Year, meant to deepen the commitment of all priests to interior renewal for the sake of a more forceful and incisive witness to the Gospel in today's world, will conclude on the same Solemnity in 2010."

Click here for ways to celebrate the Year for Priests.

St. John Vianney Show

to come to Central New York

Leonardo Defilippis of St. Luke Productions

will bring his new one-man show to the Diocese of Syracuse

March 14 - St. John's, New Hartford

March 15 - St. Thomas, Binghamton

March 16 - Immaculate Heart HS, Watertown

March 18 - Holy Family, Syracuse

March 19 - St. Mary, Auburn

About the show...

Here is the hero we need in our day – a priest who, like Christ, pours himself out with complete unselfishness who never gives up on a single soul. The VIANNEY live production will enthrall audiences with this struggle against all odds by a simple man who perseveres in spite of so much discouragement and adversity. The original musical score by composer Randall DeBruyn is gripping and beautiful, the costumes and sets take the audience to France of the 19th century, and Leonardo Defilippis’s portrayal will bring all to tears, laughter and a deep experience of the presence of God in our midst.

For more information, check out vianneydrama.com.

Click here to download a flier for your parish.

Who is St. John Mary Vianney? 

He is also known as the "Cure de Ars," because "Cure" is the French term for a parish priest and Ars was the town in the Southeast of France where his parish was. 
 

In Pope Benedict's June 18th Letter to Priests, he says this about St. John Vianney:

He arrived in Ars, a village of 230 souls, warned by his bishop beforehand that there he would find religious practice in a sorry state: "There is little love of God in that parish; you will be the one to put it there". As a result, he was deeply aware that he needed to go there to embody Christ's presence and to bear witness to His saving mercy: "[Lord,] grant me the conversion of my parish; I am willing to suffer whatever you wish, for my entire life!". With this prayer he entered upon his mission. The Cure devoted himself completely to his parish's conversion, setting before all else the Christian education of the people in his care.

The Cure also knew how to "live" actively within the entire territory of his parish: he regularly visited the sick and families, organized popular missions and patronal feasts, collected and managed funds for his charitable and missionary works, embellished and furnished his parish church, cared for the orphans and teachers of the "Providence" (an institute he founded); provided for the education of children; founded confraternities and enlisted lay persons to work at his side.

By spending long hours in church before the tabernacle, he inspired the faithful to imitate him by coming to visit Jesus with the knowledge that their parish priest would be there, ready to listen and offer forgiveness. Later, the growing numbers of penitents from all over France would keep him in the confessional for up to sixteen hours a day. It was said that Ars had become "a great hospital of souls".

In his time the Cure of Ars was able to transform the hearts and the lives of so many people because he enabled them to experience the Lord's merciful love. Our own time urgently needs a similar proclamation and witness to the truth of Love.