Hearts and Mind of a saint

File under WTF.

AP reports:Heart of 19th-century French saint coming to U.S. for first time

MERRICK, N.Y. --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 became an object of worship.

For reasons unknown, Vianney's body never decayed after death, and his heart and body have been encased in separate glass reliquaries in France for more than a century.

Um, you say it didn't decay?

The brownish heart, with just a hint of pink in the middle, sits in a small glass case.

So, what's the deal with this feller ?

Vianney was the 19th century Cure (curate, or pastor) of the village of Ars in France, and died there in 1859. When his body was exhumed in 1904 because of his pending beatification, it was found intact. Except for one time in 1925, when the heart was taken to Rome for Vianney's canonization, it has never left France.

Mangano says there's a long-standing tradition in the Catholic church of venerating relics such as the heart of Vianney, the patron saint of priests. But for the uninitiated, he said think of Elvis Presley.

"People get on eBay and they'll try to get belongings or artifacts from like Elvis Presley, like people that they idolized, they admired," the priest explained. "Because having something of that person, you know, makes you feel close to them."

He said for Catholics, "having a relic in our presence, it inspires us because this relic is from the body of a person whose body and soul was for God."

Actually, in a way, Vianney may have been an "Elvis" of his time. It is said that upwards of 50,000 people a year would travel to Ars to see him. A rail link had to be built from Lyon to Ars just to accommodate the worshippers.

I found this on the Wiki link ::::

Although modern secularists criticize his penances, he was remarkable to his parishioners for his stringency and emphasis on contrition. He believed that the priest was responsible for expiating the sins he had heard in confession, and so he practiced extreme mortifications, and he revived the penitential practices of the desert monks. Ars became famous for its piety, and in a single year it hosted over one hundred thousand pilgrims.

...
Hagiographers state that St. Jean-Marie Vianney was vigorously tormented by the Devil. This was primarily due to his hearing of confessions for hours on end, sometimes up to 16 to 18 hours a day, according to his Catholic biographers. He worked vigorously at confession and penance for thirty years in his vocation. What he believed to be experiences of torment with demons were minor at first, but grew more severe with time. His last days were marked by peace, however, and he died in serenity.

(photo credit: PostSecret)

"You know quite well, deep within you, that there is only a single magic, a single power, a single salvation . . . and that is called loving. Well then, love your suffering."
~ Hermann Hesse