Respected and esteemed by all
We like to imagine the first meeting between Jean-Marie Vianney, a young priest who was a little awkward and intimidated, and Marie-Anne-Colombe Garnier des Garets d’Ars, the chatelaine of Ars respected and esteemed by all.
It was February 1818, shortly after Mr. Vianney’s arrival in his new parish. Born on June 30, 1754, lively, a woman of character but above all fervent and respected, the one that everyone here called Miss d’Ars, had spent the entire revolution at the castle, despite the turmoil. She lived in the beautiful 18th century building at the southern entrance to the village – owned by the family since 1592 -, alone with her valet, nicknamed Mr. de Saint Phal. When Abbot Displace died, she had prayed a lot for God to send a holy priest to Ars. In January 1818 she had even traveled to Lyon to intervene with Mr. Courbon, vicar general; his prayers were largely answered… Mr. Courbon clarified to young Jean-Marie Vianney when he was appointed: “There is not much love of the Good Lord in this parish, you will put some into it. […] Providence will not abandon you. Ars has a castle where there is a good young lady as charitable as she is pious who will help you with her funds and her influence. She promised me.”
Meeting with the Holy Priest
From their first meeting, it is mainly reported that the Curé of Ars, then a simple chaplain, asked the chatelaine to take back the furniture of the rectory belonging to the castle; he found it too luxurious for his taste. Very quickly a mutual esteem was born and she quickly became his great support, his first penitent who attended his Mass every morning. “I have not known a priest as pious as our new priest – she reported to her brother Viscount François – he does not leave the church, and at the altar, he is a seraph, he is filled with the spirit of God…”
His action
Thanks to her influence, she quickly attracted other people, but under the guidance of her priest, above all she climbed the degrees of intimacy with God, fighting against the rigor of Jansenism. Mr. Vianney invited him to implement active charity by pointing out the hidden miseries, the sick to visit, the discreet help to provide, the impetus to give. Her living room became a sort of workshop where she prepared clothes of all sizes for children, the elderly or those most in need; she also paid the missing rents, provided wood… The Curé of Ars had high esteem for his parishioner of the castle; he considered her a saint and, after her death, he eulogized her several times from the pulpit, emphasizing her devotion to daily Mass.
She died at Christmas 1832, having confessed and having received the last sacraments from the hand of her holy priest. She was buried in the family vault near the church, then when in 1855 Mr. Vianney inaugurated the new cemetery, he obtained that his benefactress go to rest in the nave of the church, near the small catechism chair.
Article taken from the Annales d’Ars n° 314[mai-juin 2008] .
