As Catholics grapple with the ongoing clergy sex abuse scandal, the Knights of Columbus hopes this weekend's visit to New Orleans of a relic of St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, can help heal and inspire the local church and its leaders.
"During the present moment of great trial for the Catholic Church in the United States, the Knights of Columbus welcomes as providential this special opportunity to offer for veneration a major relic of the patron of parish priests, whose holiness and integrity is a model for clergy and laity alike," reads a statement on the website of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal and service organization.
The relic, the heart of St. John Vianney, will be venerated on Saturday, Dec. 1, and Sunday, Dec. 2, at St. Rita Church, 2729 Lowerline St.
The Knights of Columbus is sponsoring a nationwide tour of the 19th century priest's heart, which is considered a major or first-class relic. In the Catholic Church, a relic is a physical object associated with someone who has been declared a saint. While the object is not to be worshipped, it is venerated as a sign of the person's holiness.
St. John Vianney's heart is considered a major or first-class relic, since it was part of the saint’s body as opposed to something that the saint touched or wore. It is said to be "incorruptible," referring to the fact that his body avoided the normal process of decomposition after death. Catholics believe that is also a sign of the person’s holiness.
The relic will be available for veneration from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday along with masses at 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. and confessions at 3 p.m. The veneration will also be present in the church on Sunday morning from 8 until 10 a.m.
The visit to New Orleans will be one of the first stops in “Heart of a Priest,” a national relic tour sponsored by the Knights of Columbus that will focus on the call to personal sanctification that is the vocation of all Christians, especially priests.
St. John Vianney popularly known as the Curé of Ars, was born in France in 1786. He grew up in a time of open hostility to the Church in the wake of the French Revolution. As a young priest, he was assigned to lead the parish in the small farming community of Ars, France and became a devoted leader of the church there, earning notoriety for converting townspeople and serving their spiritual and charitable needs. He died in 1859 and was canonized in 1925. His relic resides in a shrine in Ars.
