Vianney was born on 9 May 1786, in the French town of
Dardilly,
France (near
Lyon), and was baptized the same day. His parents, Matthieu Vianney and his wife Marie (Belize), had six children, of whom John was the fourth. The Vianneys were devout Catholics who helped the poor. Vianney's paternal grandparents once hosted
Benedict Joseph Labre, the
patron saint of the homeless, who passed through Dardilly on his pilgrimage to Rome, in 1770. By 1790, the anticlerical terror phase of the
French Revolution forced many loyal priests to hide from the regime in order to carry out the sacraments in their parish. Even though to do so had been declared illegal, the Vianneys travelled to distant farms to attend Masses celebrated on the run. Realizing that such priests risked their lives day by day, Vianney began to look upon them as heroes. He received his
First Communion catechetical instruction in a private home from two nuns, whose communities had been dissolved during the Revolution. He made his first communion at the age of 13, in a neighbour's kitchen; during the Mass, the windows were covered so that the light of the candles could not be seen from outside. The Catholic Church was re-established in France in 1802, by
Napoleon Bonaparte, resulting in religious peace throughout the country, culminating in a
Concordat. By this time, Vianney was concerned about his future vocation and longed for an education. He was 20 when his father allowed him to leave the farm to be taught at a "presbytery school", in the neighbouring village of
Écully, conducted by the
Abbé Balley. The school taught arithmetic, history, geography and Latin. Vianney struggled with school, especially with Latin, since his past education had been interrupted by the French Revolution. Only because of Vianney's deepest desire to be a priest—and Balley's patience—did he persevere. Vianney's studies were interrupted in 1809, when he was drafted into Napoleon's armies. He would have been exempt, as an ecclesiastical student, but Napoleon had withdrawn the exemption in certain dioceses, because of his need for soldiers in his
fight against Spain. Two days after he had to report at Lyons, he became ill and was hospitalized, during which time his draft left without him. Once released from the hospital, on 5 January, he was sent to
Roanne for another draft. He went into a church to pray, and fell behind the group. He met a young man who volunteered to guide him back to his group, but instead led him deep into the
Forez mountains, to the village of
Les Noes, where
deserters had gathered. An imperial proclamation in March 1810 granted amnesty to all deserters, enabling Vianney to go back legally to Écully, where he resumed his studies. He was
tonsured in 1811, and, in 1812, went to the
minor seminary, at
Verrières-en-Forez. In the autumn of 1813, he was sent to the major seminary at Lyons. Considered too slow, he was returned to Balley. However, Balley persuaded the
vicar general that Vianney's piety was great enough to compensate for his ignorance, and the seminarian received
minor orders, and the
subdiaconate on 2 July 1814, was
ordained a
deacon, in June 1815, and was ordained a priest, on 12 August 1815, in the
Couvent des Minimes de Grenoble. He said his first Mass the next day, and was appointed the assistant to Balley in Écully. == Curé (priest) of Ars ==