SaintsWho Were Model Confessors
Fr. Alfred McBride, OPraem
paper chooses the lives of St. John Vianney, St. Padre Pio, and St. Leopold
Mandic to illustrate model confessors. The story of each saint is followed by a
reflection. The emphasis is catechetical.
St. John Vianney, Parish Priest
Who was this country pastor who became a
shining light in the midst of a French Church plunged into darkness by the
reign of terror and revolution? He was born near Lyons, France, in 1786. When
he was five years old, the reign of terror in Paris was exiling or murdering
Catholic priests and religious. He received his First Communion just before the
soldiers of the French Revolution arrived and closed his parish church. His
family held onto their Catholic faith and trained him to do so. He felt a call
to the priesthood. While he was not an outstanding student, he was ordained a
priest in 1815 at age twenty-nine.
was assigned to the parish of Ars, where he remained for forty-two years,
because the people repeatedly opposed his transfer. He did want a change but
turned down promotions to more prosperous parishes. The Opening Prayer for the
Mass on his feast states, "Almighty and merciful God, / who made the Priest
Saint John Vianney / wonderful in his pastoral zeal" (The
Roman Missal, Third Typical Edition [Washington DC: USCCB,
2011], 914). He cared for his parish by his preaching, prayer, life of
simplicity, and constant generosity to the poor.
his 1986 "Letter to Priests," Pope John Paul II devoted a lengthy reflection to
the extraordinary ministry of the Curé of Ars. He cited the saint's remarkable
"When Fr. Vianney arrived at his parish,
there were only 230 souls. One recalls that in that village there was a great
deal of indifference and very little religious practice, especially with the
men. The bishop warned him, "There is not much love of God in that parish, you
will put some there." But quite soon, far beyond his own village, the Curé
became the pastor of a multitude coming from the entire region, from different
parts of France and from other countries. It is said that 80,000 came in the
year 1858. People sometimes waited for days to see him to go to confession to
attracted them to him, was not merely curiosity nor even a reputation justified
by miracles and extraordinary cures which the saint wished to hide. It was much
more the realization of meeting a saint, amazing for his penance, so close to
God in prayer, remarkable for his peace and above all so intuitive in
responding to souls and freeing them from their burdens especially in the
confessional. . . . He taxed his ingenuity to devise initiatives adapted to his
time and parishioners. However, all these priestly activities were centered on
the Eucharist, catechesis and the Sacrament of Reconciliation." (Letters to My Brother Priests, 1979-1999
[Chicago: Midwest Theological Forum, 2006], pp. 117-118)
Arguably the finest biography of St. John
Vianney is The Secret of the Curé of Ars,
written by Henri Gheon. Confessors may find a fascinating approach to their
calling in Gheon's Chapter 8, "A Rumor of Faith." Mainly profound and often
humorous, the author brings to life as much as possible how the Curé navigated
his ministry of mercy in the confessional. Lighthearted but deadly serious,
Vianney found a way to link the mystery of human conscience, the graces of
God's forgiveness, and the variety of people who flocked to the Curé's village
emphasizes the fact that Vianney performed many miracles, especially through the
intercession of St. Philomena, but that was not his priority. He believed that
his true mission was the spiritual state of his work. He wanted to win souls.
He generally gave mild penances to those who came to confession and proceeded
to assume a penance for the penitent. Foremost in his mind was the Cross and
the love of the Cross: "The cross is a ladder to heaven."
Benedict XVI writes:
We priests should feel that the following
words, which [the Curé of Ars] put on the lips of Christ, are meant for each of
us personally: "I will charge my ministers to proclaim to sinners that I am
ever ready to welcome them, that my mercy is infinite." From St. John Mary
Vianney we can learn to put our unfailing trust in the sacrament of Penance, to
set it once more at the center of our pastoral concerns. . . . [He] dealt with
different penitents in different ways. . . . To a priestly confrere he explained:
"I will tell you my recipe: I give sinners a small penance and the rest I do in
their place." (Letter Proclaiming a Year for Priests, www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/letters/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20090616_anno-sacerdotale_en.html)
Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, Capuchin Mystic, Confessor, and Spiritual Director
Padre Pio is usually associated with San
Giovanni Rotondo, the small town in the Gargano Mountains in southern Italy. As
a Capuchin friar with the stigmata, St. Pio lived there for fifty years. On May
25, 1887, he was born in Pietrelcina, a village in another province. His real
name was Francesco Forgione, but once he entered the Capuchin Friary, he became
Padre Pio. One of eight children, he grew up as a lively boy on a small farm.
His family raised him with a strong Catholic identity. At age sixteen, he
became a Capuchin friar.
in August 1918, he developed the marks of the stigmata that reflected the five
wounds of Jesus in his Passion. Because of this he has been called the "Second
St. Francis," who also bore the stigmata. Pope John Paul II referred to this
during the canonization of Padre Pio on June 16, 2002: "Is it not, precisely,
the "glory of the Cross" that shines above all in Padre Pio? . . . Throughout
his life, he always sought greater conformity with the Crucified. . . . In
God's plan, the Cross constitutes the true instrument of salvation for the
whole of humanity" (www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/homilies/2002/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_20020616_padre-pio_en.html).
pope said that the effectiveness of Padre Pio was due to his long hours spent
in prayer and the confessional. Padre Pio loved to say, "I am a poor Franciscan
who prays. I am convinced that prayer is the best weapon we have, a key that
opens the heart of God." Other examples of his impact are his founding of a
hospital that he named "Home for the Relief of Suffering," and his founding of
"Prayer Groups," a gift to the Church of voluntary daily prayer by his groups
around the world.
Pio loved the ministry of Divine Mercy. He made himself available to thousands
upon thousands through spiritual direction and celebrating the Sacrament of
Reconciliation. At times, he could be a tough confessor who made people aware
of the seriousness of their sins and the need for repentance. That did not
deter penitents from returning to him for confession. Pope John Paul II said, "May
his example encourage priests to carry out with joy and zeal this ministry
which is so important today."
"Jesus said, 'Physician, heal yourself' (Lk
4:23). His words have a special meaning for priest confessors. Is not every
confession a challenge to priests to forgive others personally in their daily
life, to forgive till it hurts? Will our words of absolution be a weekly call
to be ministers of mercy in every aspect of our priesthood? If we walked around
our church and drove through our parish neighborhoods with hearts full of
mercy, would we then be more inventive in finding ways to help more people to
come to confession? When our souls are radiant with the peace of forgiving others,
would not that be a source of creativity in attracting people to confession?
The same challenge is true for parents, catechists and all parishioners. Padre
Pio suffered pain from a lot of people in his lifetime. He learned how to
forgive them. Then he was ready for the multitude of penitents lined up at his
confessional" (Fr. Alfred McBride, A
Priest Forever: Nine Signs of Renewal and Hope [Cincinnati: Franciscan
Media, 2012], 74 [slightly adapted]).
Leopold Mandic, Capuchin Confessor and Spiritual Director
The last of twelve children, Leopold Mandic
was born in Dalmatia on May 12, 1866. When he was sixteen, he traveled to
Udine, Italy, where he entered the Seraphic school run by the Capuchin fathers.
Two years later he became a Capuchin friar. He was ordained a priest on
September 20, 1890. After serving in different ministries, he was assigned to
the Capuchin community in Padua, where he served for almost forty years. He
loved the apostolates of confessor and spiritual director, in which he excelled.
For the rest of his life and in the spirit of the Curé of Ars and Padre Pio, he
attracted a huge number of penitents and souls seeking holiness. Fr. Mandic
understood that a central key for revitalizing the members of the Catholic
Church was the ministry of mercy contained especially in the confessional.
his ailments of chronic arthritis, abdominal pains, and a stammer in his
speech, he soldiered on year after year. Though he was a little man of four
feet, five inches, he was a spiritual giant who showed people that he lived on
the power of God and an extraordinary faith. When people asked him how he
handled his troubles, he enthusiastically told them, "Have faith! Everything
will be all right. Faith, Faith!" His contagious witness of faith made his
spiritual advice more credible and motivated the penitents and searchers for
sanctity to radical personal conversion that touched their hearts for the rest
of their lives.
wanted to be a missionary to his homeland, where tensions between religions and
ethnic rivalries between Christians and Muslims were sharp. He wanted to work
among them as a mediator of peace and mutual understanding. It was not to be.
His order realized his talents would be most valuable in Padua, a foresight
that proved providentially wise. From his early years, he heard the Capuchin
community urging him to give up his missionary desires. The order realized his
exceptional gifts as a confessor and spiritual director would flourish in the
Padua area. Whether with regrets or with a sense of humor, he said, "I am like
a bird in a cage, but my heart is beyond the seas."
of souls often thirst for God but somehow have lost the road to his presence
and mercy. God has wisely raised up the three spiritual lighthouses of mercy in
the Sacrament of Reconciliation and its training in continual conversion
through spiritual direction. The call for a New Evangelization will require a
worldwide summons to all souls to be cleansed from sin and reinvigorated by
grace. Instead of a lifeless passion for material success, a personal search
for a cleansed soul and the fire of faith in Jesus will be a dream come true.
The invitation to practice spiritual
direction should always be an important chapter in every pastoral plan. It
should be a permanent invitation that always has sanctification and mission for
its objective. The faithful can be formed in this through preaching,
catechesis, confession, the liturgical-sacramental life—especially in the
Eucharist,—Bible groups, and the witness of the minister who himself asks for
counsel in due time and opportune circumstances. From some of these ministries
or services, it is possible to pass to personal examination, or to a personal
encounter, to spiritual reading, to spiritual exercises in a personalized form.
(Priest, Minister of Divine Mercy, Congregation of Clergy 2011, p. 48, #115)
Copyright © 2014, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops,
Washington, DC. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to duplicate
this work without adaptation for non-commercial use.
Excerpts from Pope Benedict XVI,Letter
Proclaiming a Year for Priests, June 16, 2009,copyright © 2009, Libreria Editrice Vaticana (LEV); John Paul
II, Homily, June 16, 2002, copyright © 2002, LEV. Used with permission. All
Excerpts from Pope St. John Paul II, Letters to My Brother Priests: Complete Collection of Holy
Thursday Letters (1979-2005) (Woodridge,
Theological Forum, 2006), pp. 117-118. Used with permission of Midwest