On the feast day of St. John Vianney, the Diocese of Grand Rapids celebrated the patron saint of two nearby institutions.

“Happy feast of St. John Vianney, patron saint of priests, and of St John Vianney, Wyoming, MI, and St. John Vianney Catholic Preschool-8th Grade in our diocese,” the diocese posted on social media. “Known for his dedication to the sacrament of confession, St. John Vianney would spend long hours in the confessional listening and offering forgiveness to penitents who traveled to the town of Ars from all over France.” 

St. John Vianney was born in 1786, Franciscan Media said. He had long desired to join the priesthood, but he had received little formal education. When he finally pursued the seminary, Vianney struggled with his studies, especially the Latin lectures. He almost gave up, but before taking that drastic step he sought private tutoring, and eventually he achieved his dream of being an ordained priest. 

St. John Vianney's family often spent time caring for the poor in their community, Catholic.org said. Priests and religious figures were executed or forced to work in secret during the French Revolution, and Vianney viewed the fact that they remained committed to their calling as heroic. He continued his religious education during the war, taught by nuns whose convents had been taken away from them. 

As a priest, Vianney was devoted to the Virgin Mary and St. Philomena, Britannica said. He was reputed to be passionate about the Sacrament of Reconciliation. He was widely known as a confessor and would spend 12 to 15 hours each day hearing confessions. From 1845 until his death in 1859, as many as 20,000 people would travel each year to Ars to meet Vianney and confess to him. 

St. John Vianney is the patron saint of parish priests, and his feast day is celebrated on Aug. 4.