The Cure d'Ars

"Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney (8th May, 1786 - 4th August, 1859) was born on the eve of the French Revolution and grew up in an age of failing faith and social upheaval.

Already a late vocation with little formal schooling or academic aptitude, he was ordained in 1815 and appointed parish priest of the village of Ars, near Lyon.

He was by no means dull, and his lack of intellectual prowess was more than compensated for by his steadfast faith, unwavering pursuit of holiness and heroic commitment to the duties and demands of his priestly office.

Only seventy years after his death he was named 'the Patron Saint of Parish Priests'.

In this definitive biography of St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney, Abbe Trochu has compiled the many extraordinary facts surrounding the life and vocation of the Cure d'Ars. Shying away from popular legend and basing his book largely on the records and documents used by the Church in the official Process of Beatification and Canonisation, Trochu presents an inspiring journey into the life of the Cure that is at once marvellous and authentic.

As no one else, the author gives readers a vivid and accurate picture of this loving and generous saint, remarkable for his burning desire to make God's goodness known to a world that had hardened itself against Him - a God Whom he said was "quicker to forgive than a mother to snatch her child from the fire".