JSAN-GABRIEL
327
JEANNE
Jean-Baptiste now resumed his studies at Ecully.
In 1812, he was sent to the seminary at Verrieres; he
was so deficient in Latin as to be obhged to follow the
philosophy course in French. He failed to pass the
examinations for entrance to the seminary proper, but
on re-examination three months later succeeded. On
13 August, 1815, he was ordained priest by Mgr
Simon, Bishop of Grenoble. His difficulties in making
the preparatory studies seem to have been due to a
lack of mental suppleness in dealing with theory as
distinct from practice — a lack accoimted for by the
meagreness of his early schooling, the advanced age
at which he began to study, the fact that he was not
of more than average intelligence, and that he was far
advanced in spiritual .science and in the practice of
virtue long before he came to study it in the abstract.
He was sent to Ecully as assistant to M. Bailey, who
had first recognized and encouraged his vocation, who
urged him to persevere when the obstacles in his way
seemed insurmountable, who interceded with the ex-
aminers when he failed to pass for the higher seminary,
and who was his model as well as his preceptor and
patron. In 1818, after the death of M. Bailey, M.
Vianney was made parish priest of Ars, a village not
very far from Lyons. It was in the exercise of the
functions of the parish priest in this remote French
hamlet that as the "cure d'.A.rs" he became known
throughout France and the Christian world. A few
years after he went to Ars, he foundetl a sort of or-
phanage for destitute girls. It was called " The Provi-
dence" and was the model of similar institutions es-
tablished later all over France. M. Vianney himself
instructed the cliildren of "The Providence" in the cate-
chism, antl these catechetical instructions came to be so
popular that at last they were given every day in the
church to large crowds. " The Providence " was the
favourite work of the " curfi d' Ars ", but, although it was
successful, it was closed in 1847, because the holy cure
thought that he was not justified in maintaining it in
the face of the opposition of many good people. Its
closing was a very heavy trial to him.
But the chief labour of the Cut6 d'.^rs was the direction of souls. He had not been long at Ars when people began coming to him from other parishes, then from distant places, then from all parts of France, and finally from other countries. As early as 183.5, his Ijishop forbade him to attend the annual retreats of the diocesan clergy because of "the souls awaiting him yonder". During the last ten years of his life, he spent from sixteen to eighteen hours a day in the con- fessional. His advice was sought by bishops, priests, religious, young men and women in doubt as to their vocation, sinners, persons in all sorts of difBculties, and the sick. In 1855, the number of pilgrims had reached twenty thousand a year. The most distin- guished persons visited Ars for the purpose of see- ing the holy cure and hearing his daily instruction. The Venerable Father Colin was ordained deacon at the same time, and was his life-long friend, while Mother Marie de la Providence founded the Helpers of the Holy Souls on his advice and with his constant encouragement. His direction was characterized by common sense, remarkable insight, and supernatural knowledge. He would sometimes divine sins with- held in an imperfect confession. His instructions were simple in language, full of imagery drawn from daily life and country scenes, but breathing faith and that love of God which was his life principle and which he infused into his audience as much by his manner and appearance as by his words, for, at the last, his voice was almost inaudible. The miracles recorded by his biographers are of three classes : first, the obtaining of money for his charities and food for his orphans; secondly, supernatural knowledge of the past and future; thirdly, healing the sick, especially children. The greatest miracle of all was his life. He practised mortification from his early youth, and for forty years
his food and sleep were insufficient, humanly speaking,
to sustain life. And yet he laboured incessantly, with
unfailing humility, gentleness, patience, and cheerful-
ness, until he was more than seventy-three years old.
On 3 October, 1874, Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney was
proclaimed Venerable by Pius IX, and on 8 January,
1905, he was enrolled among the Blessed. Pope Pius X
has proposed him as a model to the parocliial clergy.
His feast is kept on 4 August.
MONNIN, Le Can- d'Ars (19th ed., Paris, 1907; tr. London, 1S62); Idem, Esprit du Cure d'Ars (Paris, 1S65): Joseph Vianney, Le Bienheureux Jean Vianney (tr. London, 1906); Beatification du Bienheureux Cure d'Ars (Belley, 1907); Hello, Le Cure d'Ars in Le Siccle (Paris, 1905).
Susan T. Otten.
Jean-Gabriel Perboyre, Blessed, missionary and martyr, b. at Puech, Diocese of Cahors, France, 6 January, 1802; martyred at Ou-Tchang-Fou, China, 11 September, 1840. Jean-Gabriel was one of eight children born to Pierre Perboyre and Marie Rigal. By reason of his piety, he was the model of his com- panions during his childhood. While acting as com- panion to his younger brother, in the preparatory seminary of Montauban, he felt the Divine call to the priesthood, and after obtaining the consent of his father to take the step, he entered the novitiate of the Congregation of the Mission, in the seminary of Mon- tauban, Dec, 1818. On the feast of the Holy Inno- cents, 1820, he made the four vows of the Vincentians. He was raised to the priesthood, 23 Sept., 1825, in the chapel of the Sisters of Charity, by Bishop Dubourg, of New Orleans, and on the following day he said his first Mass. Shortly after, he was sent to the seminary of Saint-Flour to teach dogmatic theology, and two years later, he was appointed superior of the prepara- tory seminary of Saint-Flour. His great sanctity and marvellous success induced his superiors, in 1832, to appoint him sub-director of the novitiate in Paris. He continued in this office until 1835, when he ob- tained the permission which for fourteen years he had sought and begged and prayed for, permission to goto China, there to preach, to suffer, and to die. He left Havre on 21 March, and on 29 Aug., 1835, arrived at Macao, where he spent some time studying the Chinese language. On 21 Dec, 1835, he began his journey to Ho-Xan, the mission a.ssigned him. In Jan., 1838, he was transferred to the mission of Hou-Pe, in which, as in that of Ho-Nan, he laboured zealously and with great success. In Sept., 1839, the persecutions against the Christians broke out in Hou-Pe, and Jean-Gabriel was one of the first victims. The events leading to his death bear a striking resemblance to the Passion and Death of Christ. A neophyte, like another Judas, be- trayed Jean-Gabriel for thirty ounces of silver. He was stripped of his garments and clothed with rags, bound, and dragged from tribimal to tribunal. At each trial, he was treated inhumanly, tortured both in body and in soul. Finally, he was taken to Ou- Tchang-Fou, and after unparalleled tortures, was con- demned to death. The sentence was ratified by an imperial edict, and on 11 Sept., 1840, Jean-Gabriel was led to death with seven criminals. The holy priest was strangled to death on a cross. Jean-Ga- briel was declared Venerable by G regory XVI on 9 July , 1843; and was beatified by Leo XIII on 9 Nov., 1889. His feast is celebrated on 7 Nov.
Vie du Bienheureux Jean-Gabriel Perboyre (Paria, 1889; tr. Baltimore. 1894).
Joseph S. Glass.
Jeanne de Valois, Saint, queen and foimdress of the Order of the Annonciades, b. 1464; d. at Bourges, 4 Feb., 1.505. Daughter of one king and wife of an- other, there are perhaps few saints in the calendar who suffered greater or more bitter humiliations than did Madame Ji'hanne de France, the heroic woman usually known in English as St. Jane of Valois. A daughter of Louis XI by his second wife, Charlotte of Savoy, she
