Thousands visit Long Island church to see sainted priest's heart

Published: 2006-10-10

MERRICK, N.Y. (CNS) -- More than 5,000 people entered Cure of Ars Church in Merrick Oct. 7-9 to pray before St. John Vianney's heart, and the pastor expected thousands more by Oct. 11, when the incorrupt relic of the sainted 19th-century French priest would end its visit and be taken to Boston. St. John (Jean-Marie Baptiste) Vianney, who died in 1859, is widely known to Catholics as the Cure (parish priest) of Ars. He won over the hearts of his villagers in France by visiting with them, teaching them about God and reconciling people to the Lord in the confessional. This was the first time that his heart has been brought to the United States. It is usually kept in the basilica in Ars near the incorrupt -- miraculously undecayed -- body of the saint. Pilgrims who wanted to see the relic waited in a long line leading up to the church entrance. After kneeling before the heart in prayer, many stayed to go to confession. In his life St. John Vianney often heard confessions for 16 to 18 hours a day.

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