Among those close to the Cur\u00e9 of Ars, we cannot ignore his doctor, Doctor Jean-Baptiste Saunier. \u201cMy corpse does not need many things,\u201d said Mr. Vianney, and yet he will have recourse to a doctor. It was he who had chosen it; around 1835 Mr. Vianney, while visiting patients at the H\u00f4tel-Dieu in Lyon, met the doctor.<\/p>\n
Perceiving the need for a doctor near his parish, he said to him: \u201cAfter that, you will come to me in Ars. The country is decimated by fevers. We need you.\u201d Not without hesitation, the doctor will give in to the wishes of the holy Cur\u00e9.<\/p>\n
He first lived in Villeneuve, later settling with his wife and two children in Sainte Euph\u00e9mie (5 km from Ars).<\/p>\n
It was especially the \u201cgreat illness\u201d of the Cur\u00e9 of Ars in 1843 that affected the doctor. Many had lost hope. Dr.<\/sup> Saunier remarked: \u201cHere is the last fight. It is the end ! He only has 30 or 40 minutes to live.\u201d During his visits to the patients of Ars, Dr.<\/sup> Saunier will hear the different stories about Mr. Vianney and the grappling hook that tormented his life.<\/p>\n He probably also learned about it through the testimony of the priest himself.<\/p>\n A man of science, he will give two important scientific declarations at the Beatification Process to show the physical and mental balance of his patient, whom he will have cared for for more than 20 years. He will stay with the dying person until the end. It was with great sadness that he lost his patient saint who had become his friend: \u201cMy relationship with the servant of God was one of intimacy; I never saw in him anything other than an accomplished model of all the virtues.\u201d<\/p>\n Later, to reward the tireless dedication of Dr.<\/sup> Saunier towards the Providence of Ars, the orphans and the poor, and his great solicitude towards Mr. Vianney, Pius IX made him knight of the Order of Saint Sylvester, [at that time there were only 27 knights in the world !].<\/p>\n Extract from the Annales d’Ars n\u00b0 330[Janvier – f\u00e9vrier 2011] .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":3163,"template":"","class_list":["post-7238","grands-temoins-dars","type-grands-temoins-dars","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arsnet.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/grands-temoins-dars\/7238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arsnet.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/grands-temoins-dars"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arsnet.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/grands-temoins-dars"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arsnet.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arsnet.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
A few hours later, mass was celebrated for him and it was healing! His doctor will have the audacity to force the Saint Cur\u00e9 to rest and eat properly. Mr. Vianney will obey his doctor’s wishes like a child.
The latter did not hesitate to contact the bishop to strengthen his authority. The Cur\u00e9 of Ars, forced to eat more, sighed:
\n\u2014 I’ve become greedy… I’m not so comfortable when I go to confession!
Very soon he will return to his pace as a confessor of 12 to 16 hours a day!<\/p>\nMan of science<\/h3>\n
In 1859, weakened and suffering from the summer heat, Mr. Vianney was forced to remain bedridden from the end of July.
We call the doctor:
\n\u2014 It’s useless, said Mr. Vianney, the doctor will do nothing about it… nor this time Saint Philomena…
\n\u2014 I have 36 francs left, give them to Mr. Saunier,… and if he doesn’t come back, I won’t be able to pay him.
But how many times the doctor had refused his fees…<\/p>\nKnight of the Order of Saint Sylvester<\/h3>\n