--- title: "St. John Vianney: Feast Day August 4, Life & Quotes · Bless" url: https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-vianney/ description: "St. John Vianney, Priest, patron of parish priests. Feast day August 4, died 1859. Read their life and their own words, with sources." --- Priest · Feast day August 4 # St. John Vianney The feast day of St. John Vianney is August 4, a memorial in the US Catholic calendar. Traditionally invoked as patron of parish priests. Below: a short life and 6 sourced quotations in their own words. | | | |---|---| | Feast day | [August 4](https://blessbible.app/saints/august/#4) | | In the US calendar | Memorial | | Title | Priest | | Died | 1859 | | Patron of | [parish priests](https://blessbible.app/patron-saints/#parish-priests) | | In their own words | [6 sourced quotations](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-vianney/#words) | | Next on Bless’s Today screen | [Wednesday, August 4, 2027](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-vianney/#calendar) | ## Life The seminary nearly failed him for weakness in Latin; the Church made him patron of parish priests. Assigned to Ars, a village of 230 souls, he spent forty years there — and by the end, a hundred thousand pilgrims a year came for his confessional. He heard confessions twelve to sixteen hours a day, lived on boiled potatoes, and fought the devil like a farmer fighting weather. He called the priesthood the love of the heart of Jesus. ## Patron of Tradition invokes St. John Vianney as patron of parish priests. [Parish priests](https://blessbible.app/patron-saints/#parish-priests) Patronages are traditional, not an official list. [All patron saints in Bless, A to Z](https://blessbible.app/patron-saints/). ## In their own words Each quotation names the work it comes from. Bless quotes these in the comments beside the verses listed under [In Scripture](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-vianney/#scripture). > Prayer is the inner bath of love into which the soul plunges itself. — *Catechism on Prayer*, c. 1850 > The Holy Spirit is the mysterious light that makes us see our sins and God's mercy. — *Catechism on the Holy Spirit*, c. 1850 > I look at Him and He looks at me. — *Catechism on Prayer*, c. 1850 > Our sins are grains of sand beside the great mountain of the mercy of God. — *Sermon on Sin*, c. 1850 > The priest is not a priest for himself; he is a priest for you. — *Catechism on the Priesthood*, c. 1850 > Man has a beautiful office, that of praying and loving. You pray, you love: that is the happiness of man on earth. — *Sermon on Love of God*, c. 1850 ## In Scripture In Bless, St. John Vianney’s words appear in the comments beside these verses. This page’s labels say how each is linked: “on this verse” means the saint wrote about that very verse; “on this theme” means the quotation shares its theme. Scripture is quoted from the Catholic Public Domain Version. 1. On this theme > You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. — [Deuteronomy 6:5](https://blessbible.app/bible/deuteronomy/6/#v5) · CPDV Beside their words: [“Man has a beautiful office, that of praying and loving. You pray, you love: that is the…”](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-vianney/#q123) 2. On this theme > One thing I have asked of the Lord, this I will seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, so that I may behold the delight of the Lord, and may visit his temple. — [Psalm 26:4](https://blessbible.app/bible/psalms/26/#v4) · CPDV Beside their words: [“I look at Him and He looks at me.”](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-vianney/#q120) 3. On this theme > I sought the Lord, and he heeded me, and he carried me away from all my tribulations. — [Psalm 33:5](https://blessbible.app/bible/psalms/33/#v5) · CPDV Beside their words: [“I look at Him and He looks at me.”](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-vianney/#q120) 4. On this theme > Be merciful to me, O God, according to your great mercy. And, according to the plentitude of your compassion, wipe out my iniquity. — [Psalm 50:3](https://blessbible.app/bible/psalms/50/#v3) · CPDV Beside their words: [“The Holy Spirit is the mysterious light that makes us see our sins and God's mercy.”](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-vianney/#q119) 5. On this theme > For behold, I was conceived in iniquities, and in sinfulness did my mother conceive me. — [Psalm 50:7](https://blessbible.app/bible/psalms/50/#v7) · CPDV Beside their words: [“Prayer is the inner bath of love into which the soul plunges itself.”](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-vianney/#q118) 6. On this theme > But it is good for me to adhere to God, to put my hope in the Lord God, so that I may announce all your prophecies, at the gates of the daughter of Zion. — [Psalm 72:28](https://blessbible.app/bible/psalms/72/#v28) · CPDV Beside their words: [“Man has a beautiful office, that of praying and loving. You pray, you love: that is the…”](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-vianney/#q123) 7. On this theme > As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our iniquities from us. — [Psalm 102:12](https://blessbible.app/bible/psalms/102/#v12) · CPDV Beside their words: [“Our sins are grains of sand beside the great mountain of the mercy of God.”](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-vianney/#q121) 8. On this theme > And then approach and accuse me, says the Lord. Then, if your sins are like scarlet, they shall be made white like snow; and if they are red like vermillion, they shall become white like wool. — [Isaiah 1:18](https://blessbible.app/bible/isaiah/1/#v18) · CPDV Beside their words: [“Our sins are grains of sand beside the great mountain of the mercy of God.”](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-vianney/#q121) 4 more verses 1. On this theme > And when he has arrived, he will argue against the world, about sin and about justice and about judgment: — [John 16:8](https://blessbible.app/bible/john/16/#v8) · CPDV Beside their words: [“The Holy Spirit is the mysterious light that makes us see our sins and God's mercy.”](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-vianney/#q119) 2. On this theme > For we are not preaching about ourselves, but about Jesus Christ our Lord. We are merely your servants through Jesus. — [2 Corinthians 4:5](https://blessbible.app/bible/2-corinthians/4/#v5) · CPDV Beside their words: [“The priest is not a priest for himself; he is a priest for you.”](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-vianney/#q122) 3. On this theme > so that he might sanctify her, washing her clean by water and the Word of life, — [Ephesians 5:26](https://blessbible.app/bible/ephesians/5/#v26) · CPDV Beside their words: [“Prayer is the inner bath of love into which the soul plunges itself.”](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-vianney/#q118) 4. On this theme > For every high priest, having been taken from among men, is appointed on behalf of men toward the things which pertain to God, so that he may offer gifts and sacrifices on behalf of sins; — [Hebrews 5:1](https://blessbible.app/bible/hebrews/5/#v1) · CPDV Beside their words: [“The priest is not a priest for himself; he is a priest for you.”](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-vianney/#q122) ## In the calendar The upcoming dates, through December 31, 2028, when Bless’s Today screen shows St. John Vianney. Where the US calendar keeps another celebration that day, it is named instead and no rank is given. | Date | In the US calendar | Color | Mass readings (US) | |---|---|---|---| | [Wednesday, August 4, 2027](https://blessbible.app/calendar/2027/08/04/) | St. John Vianney, Priest (Memorial) | White | Numbers 13:1-2, 25—14:1, 26a-29a, 34-35 · Psalm 106:6-7ab, 13-14, 21-22, 23 · Luke 7:16 · Matthew 15:21-28 | | [Friday, August 4, 2028](https://blessbible.app/calendar/2028/08/04/) | St. John Vianney, Priest (Memorial) | White | Jeremiah 26:1-9 · Psalm 69:5, 8-10, 14 · 1 Peter 1:25 · Matthew 13:54-58 | Readings Later citations were computed by Bless from the US Lectionary cycle — confirm with your parish. [August 3 St. Lydia Purpuraria](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-lydia-purpuraria/) [August 5 St. Oswald of Northumbria](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-oswald-of-northumbria/) [All the saints of August](https://blessbible.app/saints/august/) [Born on August 4?](https://blessbible.app/saints/birthday/#08-04) [A saint for every day](https://blessbible.app/saints/) Spotted a mistake in a date, a patronage or a quotation? [Report an error](https://blessbible.app/support/#report) and we’ll fix it in the app and here. St. John Vianney Feast day August 4 On this page 1. [Life](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-vianney/#life) 2. [Patron of](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-vianney/#patron) 3. [In their own words](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-vianney/#words) 4. [In Scripture](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-vianney/#scripture) 5. [In the calendar](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-vianney/#calendar) In the app Bless shows a saint every day on its Today screen, with their life and their words. Free on iPhone.