'Vianney' drama premiers in Houston

                   Defilippis as Vianney

In celebration of the 150th anniversary of the death of John Mary Vianney, patron saint of parish priests, Pope Benedict has dedicated this year as the 'Year for Priests'.

St. John Vianney, cannonized May 31, 1925, was blessed with countless visions of Jesus, Mary and demons.  He also prophesied the coming chatisement and the final triumph of Mary.

As an introduction to the life and vision of this saint, Leonardo Defilippis stages a one-man production, VIANNEY which will premier in Houston, Texas beginning August 4, 2009.

"It opens amidst the chaos of the French Revolution, a time which mirrors the secularization, materialism and anti-religious sentiment of our own day.

Against this dramatic backdrop, a simple ignorant peasant priest enters the backwater town of Ars, a place where no one cares much about their faith or sees the Church as particularly relevant.

They don't expect much out of John Vianney.  But then the impossible begins to happen through this unlikely shepherd -- through his example, his love and his sacrifice, the townspeople begin to change, begin to listen and begin to pray.

This is a story of perseverance against all odds  --  the story of a humble pastor with a passion for souls. he'll do anything to save a sinner.  "It is my prayer that when people meet John Vianney, they will, just like the people of Ars, be transformed by his life, story and message," says Leonardo Defilippis.  "I know that young men looking for a radical way of serving God will be drawn to the priesthood through his example.

 

In a dramatic scene of the play, Vianney battles the devil, who attacks him physically almost every night, causing furniture to fly around the room and leaving him battered and bruised from the combat.  Why does the devil attack so violently?  Because souls are being stolen away from him by Cure of Ars!  Never discouraged, Vianney, played by Defilippis, laughs at his adversary, for when he has had a particularly bad night he knows he'll catch  "a big fish," or sinner, the next day.

Here is the hero we need in our day  --  a priest who, like Christ, pours himself out with complete unselfishness who never gives up on a single soul." (Quoted from www.vianneydrama.com website)

                       Vainney's body in the basilica at Ars

This play shows the struggle against all odds by a simple man who perseveres in spite of so much discouragement and adversity.

ABOUT the real St. John Vianney:

"Amazing things happened in Ars, witnessed by ordinary people.  The Virgin Mary appeared regularly at the rectory for conversation with the pastor.  So did the devil, who kept trying to smash the furniture.  There were miracles of multiplying bread to feed the hungry, (see lectionary readings for this coming Sunday) of healing and of prophecy and of a pastor who kept going for years on amounts of food and sleep too small to sustain human life.  Most dear to John Vianney's heart were the miracles of conversions  --  thousands of them.  Skeptics and curious tourists found their lives transformed.  Families were healed and renewed.  Fallen-away Catholics wept and returned to the Church." (from the www.christiannewswire.com website)

John Mary Vianney's body was exhumed in 1904 and was found to be incorrupt.  It is now in the basilica at Ars and can be viewed by the public.