Performances of VIANNEY will take place May 24-29 in Omaha, Hartington, Columbus and Fremont.
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Performances on St. John Vianney to take place in four communities this month
By CATHOLIC VOICE
St. Luke Productions is bringing its one-man performance on the life of St. John Vianney to stages in the Archdiocese of Omaha later this month.
Performances of "Vianney" will take place May 24-29 in Omaha, Hartington, Columbus and Fremont.
The play, sponsored by the Archdiocesan Vocation Office and Family Life Office, focuses on the question, "What is a priest?" and tells the story of St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests. Pope Benedict XVI has named him the patron of this "Year for Priests."
The "Vianney" drama stars actor and film director Leonardo Defilippis, whose feature film "Therese" created a grassroots sensation and played in mainstream movie theaters for more than a year.
"It is my prayer that when people meet John Vianney, they will, just like the people of Ars, be transformed by his life, story and message," Defilippis said. "I know that young men looking for a radical way of serving God will be drawn to the priesthood through his example."
Father Paul Hoesing, vocations director, said he hopes people in the archdiocese will see and understand the priesthood through the "perfect lens" of St. John Vianney.
"His life reveals the essence of the priesthood - the love of the heart of Jesus," he said. "In this Year for Priests, many are discovering how to cherish the priesthood. When one encounters the life of St. John Vianney, it becomes clear."
By CATHOLIC VOICE
St. Luke Productions is bringing its one-man performance on the life of St. John Vianney to stages in the Archdiocese of Omaha later this month.
Performances of "Vianney" will take place May 24-29 in Omaha, Hartington, Columbus and Fremont.
The play, sponsored by the Archdiocesan Vocation Office and Family Life Office, focuses on the question, "What is a priest?" and tells the story of St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests. Pope Benedict XVI has named him the patron of this "Year for Priests."
The "Vianney" drama stars actor and film director Leonardo Defilippis, whose feature film "Therese" created a grassroots sensation and played in mainstream movie theaters for more than a year.
"It is my prayer that when people meet John Vianney, they will, just like the people of Ars, be transformed by his life, story and message," Defilippis said. "I know that young men looking for a radical way of serving God will be drawn to the priesthood through his example."
Father Paul Hoesing, vocations director, said he hopes people in the archdiocese will see and understand the priesthood through the "perfect lens" of St. John Vianney.
"His life reveals the essence of the priesthood - the love of the heart of Jesus," he said. "In this Year for Priests, many are discovering how to cherish the priesthood. When one encounters the life of St. John Vianney, it becomes clear."
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The finest manner of treasuring priests is to love Jesus above all things and to love others in and through him, he said.
"The people of Ars, southern France, and all parts of Europe who came to him, honored the holy curate by seeking conversion and new life in Christ," Father Hoesing said. "We hope many, priests and faithful alike, will realize the love of Jesus offered through his holy priesthood." Who was John Vianney? Born into a farm family at Dardilly, France, May 8, 1786, John Vianney's early years were spent against the backdrop of a country whose Catholic heritage and faith had been systematically destroyed. John Vianney entered the seminary and was ordained and was sent to Ars in 1818. He remained in Ars until his death in 1859 at the age of 73. In 1925, he was canonized by Pope Pius XI, and is the patron saint of parish priests and confessors. To date, he is the only parish (diocesan) priest in all of church history to be canonized. Pope Benedict XVI declared June 2009 to June 2010 to be the Year of the Priest. At the close of the celebration he will declare John Vianney the patron of not just parish priests, but all the priests in the world. |