All Maine Catholics are invited to participate in a novena for priests and vocations to the priesthood each evening starting on Thursday, July 27, and running through Friday, August 4, the feast day of St. John Vianney (patron saint of parish priests).
Participation can be in person or via livestream. A gathering will be held each night at the Holy Cross Church Rivier Chapel on Baird Avenue in Lewiston (6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.), led by seminarian Lam Vo, and St. Louis Church on 26 East Main Street in Fort Kent (7 p.m. to 8 p.m.), led by seminarian Erin Donlon. You can also pray the novena with others across the state via the St. John Vianney Parish livestream from Fort Kent (www.wfktv-4.com). The times for the livestream will be for 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will include exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, time for adoration, a Scripture passage, reflections by Erin Donlon, and a litany to St. John Vianney, as well as benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. A booklet for the novena can be found here. The theme for each day is the support and faith of the family (Day 1), faith and trust in the Lord (Day 2), simplicity and purity of life (Day 3), holy confessor (Day 4), lover of the Eucharist (Day 5), model of prayer (Day 6), warrior against Satan (Day 7), the heart of the priest is the heart of Christ (Day 8), Mary, our spiritual mother (Day 9). For more information about the novena, contact Erin Donlon at [email protected].
St. John Vianney was born during the days of the French Revolution and ordained a priest in 1815. Three years later, he was made parish priest of Ars, a remote French hamlet, where his reputation as a confessor and director of souls made him known throughout the Christian world. He heard confessions of people from all over the world for sixteen hours each day, and his life was filled with works of charity and love. It is recorded that even the staunchest of sinners were converted at his mere word. He died on August 4, 1859, and was canonized on May 31, 1925.