Novena to St John Vianney

The novena to St John Vianney is nine days of prayer to the holy Curé of Ars — the poor country priest of a village of 230 souls who heard confessions sixteen hours a day and was made by Pope Pius XI the heavenly patron of all parish priests. It is prayed above all for priests and for the priesthood — for holy vocations, for the sanctification of the clergy, for a son or a seminarian discerning the altar — but also for our own conversion, for the grace of a good confession, and for whatever intention we lay in his hands. His feast is kept on 8 August in the traditional calendar; the nine days before it are the classic time to pray this novena, though it may be said at any season. Below is the complete devotion: St John Vianney's own prayers, the day-by-day form, and the special novena for priests.

Who was St John Vianney, the Curé of Ars

Jean-Marie-Baptiste Vianney was born near Lyons on 8 May 1786, three years before the French Revolution tore through his childhood; he made his First Communion in secret and learned his catechism while loyal priests were hunted. He wanted to be a priest, but Latin nearly defeated him — the seminary of Lyons could make no headway with him at all, and at his examination for ordination "he lost his head and broke down." He was saved by the judgment of a wise vicar general, who asked only one question: "Is M. Vianney good?" — "He is a model of goodness." — "Very well. Then let him be ordained. The grace of God will do the rest." He was ordained on 12 August 1815.

In 1818 he was sent to Ars-en-Dombes, "a remote and neglected place," and stayed forty-one years against his own will, longing all the while for a monastery. He fasted on potatoes, scourged himself, closed the taverns one by one, waged a twenty-five-year war on blasphemy and the dance-floor, and slowly converted the village by sheer holiness — "We are no better than other people," his parishioners said, "but we live close to a saint." For over thirty years the devil harassed him bodily, even burning his bed; he called his tormentor le grappin and said, "The grappin and I are almost mates." From 1830 the pilgrims came in a flood — three hundred a day, then in his last year over a hundred thousand — waiting up to twelve hours to kneel in his confessional, where he read souls, named forgotten sins, and wept at each confession, "What a pity! What a pity!" He died at two in the morning on 4 August 1859, seventy-three years old, worn out by souls. Pius XI canonized him in 1925 and in 1929 declared him the principal patron of parish priests throughout the world. For his whole life and the wonders of Ars, see our page on Saint John Vianney. If you are new to this form of prayer, see also what is a novena.

The daily prayers of the novena

Each of the nine days is prayed with these prayers, adding the meditation and petition proper to the day, given further below. First, the prayer St John Vianney himself composed — his Act of Love, so loved by the Church that a line of it is quoted in the Catechism:

I love You, O my God, and my sole desire is to love You until the last breath of my life. I love You, O infinitely lovable God, and I prefer to die loving You than to live one instant without loving You. I love You, O my God, and I do not desire anything but heaven, so as to have the joy of loving You perfectly. I love You, O my God, and I fear hell, because there will not be the sweet consolation of loving You.

O my God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love You, I want my heart to say it in every beat. Allow me the grace to suffer loving You, to love You suffering, and one day to die loving You and feeling that I love You. And as I approach my end, I beg You to increase and perfect my love of You. Amen.

Then the Collect of his feast, the prayer of the whole Church on his day:

Almighty and merciful God, who made Saint John Mary Vianney wonderful in his pastoral zeal and his constant ardour of prayer and penance, grant, we pray, that by his example and intercession we may win the souls of our brethren for Christ, and attain with them to everlasting glory. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Close each day with the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be, naming your intention. This is the heart of the novena; the nine daily themes that follow deepen it, one virtue of the Curé each day.

The nine days, day by day

Saint John Vianney was made a saint by nine plain virtues lived to the hilt. Each day take one, read the short meditation, and ask him for that same grace, along with your own intention.

Day 1 — Ardent faith

The Curé "believed in Hell," a witness said, "Ah, well! He believed in it" — and he believed in Heaven, and in the Real Presence, with a faith you could see. He spent his whole strength on realities the world calls invisible. St John Vianney, obtain for me a living, ardent faith, that I may believe as you believed and act upon it. (State your intention.)

Day 2 — Complete trust in God

When his orphanage of La Providence had no bread, he prayed, and the loft was found full of wheat; the cook made ten great loaves from a few pounds of flour. He fed sixty souls on alms and confidence in Providence. St John Vianney, obtain for me your complete trust in God, that I may commit my needs to Him without anxiety.

Day 3 — True love of neighbour

He kept back nothing for himself. He turned no child away from La Providence, sold his canon's mozzetta for the poor, and gave his days entirely to sinners who were often strangers who had used him ill. St John Vianney, obtain for me a charity that spends itself for others as yours did.

Day 4 — Horror of sin

He wept in the confessional at the tale of sin and was not afraid to name from the pulpit the very words that offended God, so no one could mistake what he meant. He hated sin because he loved God. St John Vianney, obtain for me a true sorrow for my sins and a horror of ever offending God again.

Day 5 — Confessor of souls

For the last thirty years he sat eleven to sixteen hours a day in the confessional, reading hearts, correcting the number of years since a soul's last confession, sending the hardened away converted. St John Vianney, obtain for me the grace of a sincere and thorough confession, and the habit of frequent penance. If it helps, keep a novena to St Philomena beside this one, for the little saint whose intercession he begged for all his miracles was St Philomena.

Day 6 — Devotion to the Blessed Sacrament

Asked what he did in the long silent hours before the tabernacle, he gave his famous answer: "I look at Him, and He looks at me." His whole priesthood flowed from the altar. St John Vianney, obtain for me a deep love and reverence for Our Lord truly present in the Blessed Sacrament.

Day 7 — Dispeller of Satan

For over thirty years the devil assailed him with noises, blows, and fire, and he took it "as all part of the day's work," casting out the powers of impurity and drink and indifference "by prayer and fasting." St John Vianney, defend me against the assaults of the enemy, and obtain for me the weapons of prayer and penance.

Day 8 — Exquisite purity

He lived on potatoes and slept little, mortifying the body to keep the soul clear, and fought a twenty-five-year war for modesty and against the occasions of sin. St John Vianney, obtain for me purity of heart and body, and the courage to flee whatever endangers it.

Day 9 — Longing for Heaven

He wore himself out for souls and longed only for God; refusing the Legion of Honour, he said, "What if, when death comes, I were to appear with these toys and God were to say to me: 'Begone! You have had your reward?'" He died reaching for Heaven. St John Vianney, obtain for me the grace to persevere to the end and to die loving God, that I may share your glory. (State your intention.)

The novena to St John Vianney for priests

Because he is the patron of the parochial clergy, the most-prayed form of this novena is offered for priests — for their holiness, for their perseverance, in reparation for the sins of the clergy, and for new vocations to the priesthood. St John Vianney left us his own prayer for priests, which may be added each day:

God, please give to Your Church today many more priests after Your own heart. May they be worthy representatives of Christ the Good Shepherd. May they wholeheartedly devote themselves to prayer and penance; be examples of humility and poverty; shining models of holiness; tireless and powerful preachers of the Word of God; zealous dispensers of Your grace in the sacraments. May their loving devotion to Your Son Jesus in the Eucharist and to Mary His Mother be the twin fountains of fruitfulness for their ministry. Amen.

Or this prayer through his intercession, well suited to praying for a particular priest or bishop:

Most gracious Heavenly Father, we thank You for our faithful priests and bishops, whose spiritual fatherhood and example of fidelity, self-sacrifice, and devotion is so vital to the faith of Your people. May our spiritual fathers be guided by the example of St John Vianney. Give them valiant faith in the face of confusion and conflict, hope in time of trouble and sorrow, and steadfast love for You. May the light of Your Truth shine through their lives and their good works. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

For the priesthood and for those to be ordained

To pray this novena for the priesthood — for a son, a seminarian, or a man discerning a vocation, or for those soon to be ordained — keep the nine days above and name that intention throughout, joining to it a plea for holy priests after the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The novena is fittingly made in the days before an ordination or a First Mass. On the whole grace and dignity of the office St John Vianney served so heroically, see Holy Orders; he himself said, "If we really understood the priest on earth, we would die not of fright but of love."

How to pray the St John Vianney novena

A novena is nine days of prayer for one intention, after the nine days the Apostles and Our Lady spent waiting in the upper room for the Holy Ghost. To pray this one:

• Choose your nine days. The traditional custom is to begin so the ninth day falls on his feast, 8 August; counting back, that is 31 July through 8 August. (Those who keep the newer calendar, on which his memorial is 4 August — his death-day — may pray 27 July through 4 August.) But the novena may be made at any time of year for any need.
• Pray at a fixed hour each day, so you do not miss a day. If you do miss one, simply continue — the fruit of a novena lies in perseverance and faith, not in mechanical exactness.
• Each day: name your intention, read the day's meditation, and pray the Act of Love, the Collect, and the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be. Add the prayer for priests when praying for the clergy.
• Ask in submission. No novena binds God; we ask through St John Vianney with confidence, and receive either what we asked or the better thing God chooses to send. The Curé, who preached the will of God above all, would have it no other way.
• Join it to the Church's own prayer. He distrusted a clutter of little private devotions and pointed souls to the Mass, the Rosary, and the Angelus. To pray a decade of the Rosary daily during the novena is very much in his spirit, as is imitating his hidden humility with the Litany of Humility.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I pray the St John Vianney novena?

Pray for nine consecutive days, ideally the nine days before his feast. Each day, name your intention, read the day's virtue and meditation, and pray St John Vianney's Act of Love, the Collect of his feast, and one Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be. If praying for priests, add his prayer for priests. Keep to a fixed time each day and ask in trust, submitting to God's will.

What is the St John Vianney novena prayed for?

Most often it is prayed for priests — for their holiness and perseverance, for new vocations, and in reparation for the failings of the clergy — because St John Vianney is the patron of parish priests. It is also prayed for one's own conversion, for the grace of a good confession, for those discerning or preparing for the priesthood, and for any personal intention entrusted to his powerful intercession.

When is St John Vianney's feast day?

In the traditional Roman calendar his feast is 8 August; in the reformed calendar his memorial is kept on 4 August, the day he died in 1859. Either day makes a fitting close to the novena. The nine days before the feast are the classic time to pray it.

Is St John Vianney the same as St John Mary Vianney or the Curé of Ars?

Yes — these are all the same saint. His full name is John Mary Baptist Vianney (in French, Jean-Marie-Baptiste Vianney; hence "St John Marie Vianney"), and he is universally known as the Curé of Ars, "curé" being the French word for a parish priest, after the village of Ars where he served for forty-one years.

Why did St John Vianney pray a novena to St Philomena?

The Curé had a tender devotion to St Philomena, the young virgin-martyr, and set up a shrine to her in Ars. He attributed nearly all the miracles of healing worked at Ars to her intercession rather than his own, calling her "my dear little St Philomena" and his "consul" and agent before God. Those who love his story often pray the novena to St Philomena alongside his.

What is St John Vianney the patron saint of?

He is the patron of parish priests and, by extension, of all the parochial clergy and of confessors, declared so by Pope Pius XI in 1929. He is invoked for holy priests and vocations, for the grace of conversion and confession, and by all who ask the help of a saint who spent himself entirely for souls.

Is there a PDF of the St John Vianney novena?

You need no printout: the whole devotion is on this page — the Act of Love, the Collect, the prayer for priests, and the nine days — and you can keep it open for the nine days. The Iter Fidei app also carries it with day-by-day reminders and audio, so it can be prayed from your phone without a printed sheet.

Pray this novena with day-by-day reminders and audio in the Iter Fidei app — the Curé of Ars beside you for all nine days. Download it here.

Sources. Butler's Lives of the Saints (St John Mary Vianney, 8 August; life, Ars, and death, 1859); the Act of Love composed by St John Vianney (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2658); the Collect of the Mass of St John Vianney (Roman Missal); the canonization by Pope Pius XI (1925) and his declaration as patron of parish priests (1929); St John Vianney's own Prayer for Priests; Sacred Scripture (Acts 1:14, the nine days of prayer before Pentecost).