In life, St. John Vianney was a revered 19th-century French clergyman who was said to

be blessed with the ability to read the hearts of worshippers. In death, his own heart has become an object of worship. St. Vianney’s body is incorrupt (never decayed), and his heart and body each have been encased in separate glass reliquaries in France since his death 150 years ago.

St. John Mary Vianney was born May 8, 1786, the third child of poor but devout parents. In 1790, the French Revolution broke out and the horrible spectre of violence and murder cast a dark shadow on young John Vianney’s childhood. Many priests and faithful Catholics met their death at the guillotine. Masses had to be celebrated in secret as priests and their flocks were forced underground. The Revolution ended in 1802 but a vast wasteland of spiritual destruction remained. Some people abandoned their faith through fear but many more were truly ignorant of God and the faith due to the lack of priests to care for them, teach them and celebrate the Sacraments with them.

After struggling with his studies in the seminary, John Vianney was ordained in 1815 and was sent to a tiny village called Ars. It was a poor place made even poorer by the behaviour of the inhabitants; very few attended Mass, and Sunday was often spent

in drunkenness and other sinful behaviour. Fr. Vianney brought his little flock back to God with his tenderness, kindness and the message of Jesus’s love for them.

As the new Curé d’ Ars set about his work, people looking for him often found him on his knees, deep in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. He preached the Gospel with simplicity and heartfelt conviction. He prayed, fasted and did penance on behalf of his flock—and he brought them the gift of forgiveness through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Fr. Vianney had a supernatural gift for reading the hearts of those who came to his confessional. He listened to people, comforted them and prompted many to turn away from sin and back to God.

As the joy of God’s forgiveness grew in his penitents, so did the lines before his confessional. Crowds of people, not only peasants, but influential folk, priests and bishops came to Ars to kneel at Fr. Vianney’s confessional. And so, this simple, childlike man, blessed with extraordinary patience, sacrificed even more by remaining in the confessional up to 16 hours a day. He knew that God was working through him to convert souls and he knew that as a priest, he was to be a living image of Jesus.

Fr. John Mary Vianney died Aug. 4, 1859, and was canonized a saint May 31, 1925. On Feb. 12, 1984, in his apostolic exhortation Reconciliation and Penance, Pope John Paul II referred to St. John Vianney as the “extra-ordinary apostle of the confessional.”

St. John Bosco was born in a small town

in Italy Aug. 16, 1815. From a young age, John Bosco was filled with a strong desire to help the poor and the youth. In 1835 John Bosco entered the seminary in which he learned work as a tailor, blacksmith, shoemaker, carpenter, violinist, acrobat, and magician, all of which became useful in his future works

In 1841 he was ordained and went to work in Turin. He followed Don Cafasso in his visits to prisons in which John Bosco witnessed abandoned youth with bad influences and

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SAINTS AMONG USST. JOHN VIANNEY

ST. JOHN BOSCO

A R C H D I O C E S E O F VA N C O U V E R

ST. JOHN VIANNEYThe Archdiocese of Vancouver welcomes the relic of the heart of St. John Vianney, which will be venerated (honoured) in several parishes across the archdiocese.

OCT 3 Holy Rosary Cathedral

OCT 4 Westminster Abbey & Seminary Of Christ The King

OCT 5 St. Matthew’s, Surrey

OCT 6 Our Lady of Fatima, Coquitlam

OCT 7 Holy Rosary Cathedral

OCT 8 St. Paul’s, Richmond

ST. JOHN BOSCOOur Lady of Good Counsel, Surrey

OCT 9 9:00 Anticipated Arrival of St. John Bosco’s Relic11:00 Concelebrated Mass1:00 Reception and Visits3:30 Children’s Mass5:30 Spanish Mass7:00 Youth Mass8:30 Prayers and Vigilwww3.telus.net/OLGC for details & updates

OCT 108:00 Mass (English)9:30 Mass (English)11:15 Mass with Archbishop Miller12:30 Reception

SCHEDULE

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www.rcav.org/relics

Have you ever wondered where the practice of veneration of relics came from? With the relic of the heart of St. John Vianney visiting our diocese it seems fitting to explain this Catholic practice that is commonly misunderstood.There is a curious statement in the book of Exodus (13:19) where Moses takes the bones of Joseph with him out of Egypt. The bones of the dead were not only treated with respect but remained connected with the dead person. In the Second Book of Kings (2:13) the prophet Elisha takes the cloak of Elijah who has just gone bodily into the heavens on a chariot of fire and uses it to

part the waters of the Jordan river. Another miracle is connected to Elisha when a dead man’s body is thrown in haste into the grave where the bones of the prophet lay and, “as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood on his feet” (2 Kings 13:21).In the New Testament, during Paul’s lifetime the faithful in Ephesus (modern-day Turkey) kept cloths that had belonged to St. Paul which, when touched to the sick and those plagued by demons, “diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them” (Acts 19:12).When St. Polycarp (bishop and successor to St. John the Apostle) was martyred in A.D. 155 he was burned at the stake. The faithful collected his clothes and struggled to touch his feet as he was tied to the burning stake. Afterwards, they collected his bones for veneration. There are also writings from the fourth and fifth centuries which describe the practice of veneration of sacred relics

including prohibiting worship. St. Jerome taught, “We do not worship, we do not adore, for fear that we should bow down to the creature rather than to the creator, but we venerate the relics of the martyrs in order the better to adore him whose martyrs they are.” The Council of Trent (16th century) taught that the “bodies of the holy martyrs and of the others who dwell with Christ... are to be honoured by all the faithful. It is good and useful to invoke them, and to have recourse to their prayers, aid and help for obtaining benefits from God, through His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who alone is our Redeemer and Saviour.”To this day it is still recommended that altars have a relic within them even though it is not strictly required. Relics also include objects that have come in contact with a saint. q

The word “relic” comes from the Latin relinquo, meaning “I leave.” Relics are the physical remains (or objects associated with them in life) of the saints. They are gifts left behind by the saints to help us to be open to the grace of the sacraments. In this way they are part of God’s plan for saving His people.Within the approved popular piety of the Church are such things as relics, the rosary, Stations of the Cross, medals and pilgrimages. The sacraments and these forms of piety including relics are based on the Incarnation of Jesus. In becoming man, God made physical reality holy. Saints are people (body and soul) who have been made

holy by Jesus. Relics may also be physical objects that have been made holy through contact with Jesus or the saints.All of these expressions of faith “extend the liturgical life of the Church, but do not replace it” (Catechism, 1675). The purpose of these devotional practices is to help the faithful to “advance in knowledge of the mystery of Christ” (Catechism, 1676). Aside from healing or other miracles, the faith of those who properly venerate the remains of the saints may be strengthened.For Catholics this goes beyond mere respect for the remains of the dead. It is a sacrilege to mistreat the bodies of the faithful departed. The practice of visiting the graves of loved ones is based on our hope in the resurrection of the body. This is why Catholic cemeteries are consecrated as sacred ground. q

Relics are categorized into three different classes to distinguish how close they are to the saint’s remains. A first-class relic is part of the body of a saint. A piece of clothing or something used by the saint (this includes Our Lord Jesus) is called a second-class relic. Third-class relics are items that have been touched to a first class relic. As an example, it is common to find holy cards with small pieces of cloth attached that have been touched to the body of a saint. q

WHAT ARE RELICS?

ARE RELICS RELEVANT TODAY?

ARE THERE DIFFERENT KINDS OF RELICS?

RELICS Q&A

ST. JOHN BOSCO – CONTINUED

Continued from first page no direction toward a positive and fulfilling future. The misfortune and agony of the youth inspired John Bosco to dedicate his life to young adolescents. He began youth clubs, hostels, and boarding schools and opened an oratory or youth centre in which he taught them trades.

In 1859 John Bosco gathered several young men and suggested the idea of a

religious society. He founded the Salesian Society with a mission to be a friend to poor kids, abandoned kids, at risk kids, and thus, be a friend to Christ. The Salesian Society was named after St. Francis de Sales because Don Bosco wanted his Salesians to follow St. Francis’ kind and gentle ways. His educational philosophy consisted of reason, religion, and kindness and the basic principle for the system was a deep understanding and

love for young people and their problems.

In 1875 his first missionary group was sent to Argentina. His work then spread throughout the mission world and presently, more than half of the Salesian Society works in mission lands and there are presently over 17,278 members working in 134 countries.

John Bosco died Jan. 31, 1888. q

From Dino Durando, Faith and Life magazine, St. Joseph’s Parish, Modesto, Calif.