By Katherine Lozier

The incorrupt relic of a Catholic saint who died 147 years ago traveled from Ars-France to the Cure of Ars Church in Merrick for five days of public veneration.

Beginning on Oct. 7, over 15,000 people turned up to lay eyes on the heart of Saint John (Jean-Marie Baptiste) Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, to pay respects and say prayers. His heart, along with the rest of his body, was found intact when he was exhumed in 1904. Inexplicably, the saint’s body has never decomposed, a traditional sign of sanctity in Catholicism.

The relic’s trip, its first to the United States, was coordinated between Father Charles Mangano, the pastor of the Cure of Ars, and Bishop Guy Bagnard of Belley, Ars-France. Mangano was in France a year ago when he asked the Bishop to bring the heart to his parish, which was celebrating its 80th anniversary. The Bishop accepted, and accompanied the heart throughout its short tour to Merrick and afterward Boston, Mass. The Cure of Ars was the first of 50 churches in the U.S. to be named after Saint John Vianney.

“I didn’t know how many people would come, and it wasn’t just people who go to church on Sunday,” Mangano said. “My heart was filled with gratitude for all that God did, not only for my parish but for the people in general.”

Phyllis Zagano, professor in the department of Religion at the University, was among the attendees on Oct. 10. She took in the experience from a teacher’s perspective interested in the veneration of relics in general and with abundant prior knowledge about the saint.

“The veneration of relics is an ancient Christian tradition,” Zagano said. “The veneration of the heart is particularly French.”

Saint Jean-Marie Vianney spent 41 years in his parish in Ars. He is renowned for transforming the town into a largely Christian community and for his ability to read a person’s heart during confession. Thousands of pilgrims came to his parish from all over France and, eventually, from other countries to receive his guidance.