Thursday, 4:30 PM
Saint's heart coming to America
By Charles A. Radin, Globe Staff
The heart of a revered 19th century clergyman is being brought to New York and Boston from Ars, France, in hopes that veneration of the relic inspires men to join the depleted ranks of the Roman Catholic priesthood.
St. John Marie Baptiste Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, died in 1859. Bishop Guy Bagnard of the Diocese of Belley-Ars is bringing his glass-encased heart to the United States. After five days on Long island, it will be brought to the Archdiocese of Boston for veneration and prayer at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton, St. Mary’s Parish in Waltham, and the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston’s South End. Many of the events will be open to the public.
Vianney was renowned for deep devotion to the pastoral duties of priests and was believed to possess healing powers and the ability to read the hearts of penitents. He was recognized as a saint and named patron of parish priests in 1925. In 1959, Pope John XXIII called him a role model whom all priests should emulate.
The visit is set to begin in New York next Saturday and continues in Greater Boston Oct. 12-14.
‘‘We bring him to Boston in the hope that his life and deeds will be an inspiration to our parish priests and an inspiration to others to consider whether they are being called to serve as priests in our parishes,’’ Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley said Friday in a telephone interview from Rome. ‘‘The heart of St. John Vianney is a symbol of his great love of God and of the people he served.’’
