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May 23, 2019
The incorrupt heart of St. John Vianney, held in a glass and golden case, or reliquary, made in the shape of a miniature church, rested on a table before the altar of the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Nashville as Bishop J. Mark Spalding reminded the congregation, “The love of Jesus flowed through this heart.”
The incorrupt heart of St. John Vianney is on a tour of the United States and made a stop at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Nashville, TN on Wednesday, 22 May 2019. Photo by Rick Musacchio
The relic of St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, was in Nashville on Wednesday, May 22, as part of a pilgrimage across the United States, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. The relic is on loan from the Shrine of Ars in France, where St. John Vianney ministered to people from across Europe as the pastor of a church in a small farming village in the 19th century.
The pilgrimage of the relic, which has been displayed in cathedrals, churches, chapels and seminaries across the country since last November, is part of the Knights’ tradition of supporting priests, said Evan Holguin of the Knights of Columbus, who has been one of the Knights carrying the relic from one location to the next.
The incorrupt heart of St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, was on display at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Nashville on Wednesday, May 22. The relic was brought to Nashville as part of a national pilgrimage, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, to encourage people to pray for priests. Bishop J. Mark Spalding celebrated Mass while the relic was on display in the Cathedral. Photo by Andy Telli
The goal has been to bring the heart of their patron saint to parish priests across the country, Holguin said, “but also to inspire young men to consider a vocation to the priesthood and encourage the faithful to pray for our priests.”
“St. John Vianney, the kind of love he had in his heart kept pouring out on his people,” said Bishop Spalding, who celebrated Mass to mark the relic’s stop in Nashville.
Bishop Spalding encouraged people to pray for the intercession of St. John Vianney, “for our parish priests and seminarians. We want the love of Jesus to overflow from their hearts onto us.”
The bishop’s homily picked up on the theme of his address at the Mass when he was installed as Bishop of Nashville in February 2018 when he talked about having the love of Jesus in his heart.
“We have to constantly pray for an increase of a love of Jesus in our hearts,” Bishop Spalding said during the Mass with the relic of St. John Vianney. “The Holy Spirit is always guiding us in, grabbing us and drawing us closer to Jesus.”
“We’re first asking for the love of the person of Jesus,” Bishop Spalding said. “St. John Vianney knew Christ in the celebration of the Eucharist and in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.”
St. John Vianney was known for his deep devotion to and love for Jesus Christ.
He was born in France in 1786, and his childhood was shaped by the French Revolution, when the faith was attacked, churches were destroyed, and bishops, priests and religious were martyred. Despite the dangerous times, he developed a strong desire to serve Jesus.
A family prays before the incorrupt heart of St. John Vianney is on a tour of the United States and made a stop at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Nashville, TN on Wednesday, 22 May 2019. Photo by Rick Musacchio
He began studying for the priesthood, but found his studies, particularly of Latin, extremely difficult. Despite his academic struggles, his superiors recognized his deep piety and allowed him to be ordained in 1815.
He was assigned as the parish priest for the small village of Ars, and from this post he became known throughout France and Europe as the “Cure d’Ars.”
St. John Vianney established a successful home for destitute girls called the Providence. His catechetical instruction for the girls became so popular they were given every day in the church to large crowds.
But his greatest contribution was in the direction of souls in the confessional. Soon, people from all over France and Europe traveled to Ars to receive absolution and spiritual direction from him in the confessional. He was known to hear confessions for 18 hours a day.
The incorrupt heart of St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, was on display at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Nashville on Wednesday, May 22. The relic was brought to Nashville as part of a national pilgrimage, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, to encourage people to pray for priests. Cathy Costello of Memphis prays before the relic. Photo by Andy Telli
He died on Aug. 4, 1859, and was canonized a saint in 1925. Pope Pius XI declared him the patron saint of parish priests in 1929.
The pilgrimage of the relic began in November and will end in June when it is returned to the Shrine of Ars, Holguin said. By the time the pilgrimage ends, he said, the incorrupt heart will have been in all 48 states of the Continental U.S. and Puerto Rico.
“We’ve gotten a great turn out at all of our events,” Holguin said. “The heart has been seen by more than 250,000 people since we began in November.”
“We had people from Michigan come down to see this,” said John Park, a former State Deputy for the Tennessee Knights of Columbus who stood watch over the relic in Nashville as part of the Knights’ honor guard.
Cathy Costello traveled with several friends from her home in Memphis, a three-and-a-half drive from Nashville, to see the relic and pray before it. “We hope everybody gets their prayers answered,” she said.
She was among the people, after the Mass, who stood in line down the center aisle of the Cathedral to kneel before the relic in prayer for a few moments.
Catholics do not worship relics but venerate them as holy objects associated with a saint. “A relic is venerated in recognition of the fat that God has worked through a saint, and that an object associated with a saint is holy and can lead us to God,” according to a brochure produced by the Knights and distributed at the stops during the pilgrimage. “The healing power of relics comes from God alone and never from the object.”
There are three classes of relics. A first-class relic is a physical part of a saint, such as a piece of bone or a lock of hair. “The heart of St. John Vianney was taken from the saint’s boy after his death in recognition of his burning love for God and humanity,” according to the Knights’ brochure. “It has remained intact, or incorrupt, for more than 150 years.”
A second-class relic is an object routinely used or touched by the saint during life, such as a piece of clothing, a book or pen.
A third-class relic is an object reverently touched to a first-class relic.
Many of the people who prayed before St. John Vianney’s heart touched crucifixes, rosaries and other religious items to the reliquary holding the relic as they prayed.
Among those praying before St. John Vianney’s heart was Dan Schachle, a parishioner at St. Christopher Church in Dickson, and the general agent for the Knights of Columbus insurance for Tennessee, eastern Arkansas and southwestern Virginia.
“I’m here because I’ve got a son studying to be a priest and a son named after a parish priest,” said Schachle. “I want to ask St. John Vianney to pray for my sons, whatever their vocation may be.”
Two of his sons, Nathan, a seminarian for the Diocese of Nashville, and Joseph, were altar servers for the Mass with the relic present.
“I’m honored to be part of the Knights of Columbus that paid to make this happen, especially with this time of the Church under attack and priests under attack,” Schachle added. “They’re no accidents. God usually sends us grace and strength when we need it.”
While in the relic was in Nashville, there was a private showing at the Motherhouse of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia and the public showing at the Cathedral. From Nashville, the relic was brought to Knoxville, Tennessee, where it was on display at the Diocese of Knoxville’s Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The pilgrimage stop in Nashville came in the middle of a week highlighting vocations in the Diocese of Nashville. The week started with the diocese’s annual Seminarian Education Dinner and Auction, which raises funds to help cover the cost of educating the diocese’s 26 seminarians. The dinner was held on the night before the relic of the patron saint of parish priests was displayed at the Cathedral.
The week concluded on Saturday, May 25, with the ordination of five new priests.