St. John Vianney reminds us of the importance of confession

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Benedictine Father Bede Price, rector of the Oratory of Sts. Gregory and Augustine in Creve Coeur, posed in the oratory's new confessional, which was installed earlier this year. The oratory, which celebrates the extraordinary form of the Mass, or traditional Latin Mass, began using the confessional in August.

He was known for spending more than half of his day in the confessional. The faithful came from afar to the small city of Ars, France, to pour out their hearts and ask for the Lord's forgiveness for their sins.

But such wasn't always the life of St. Jean-Marie (John) Vianney, a 19th-century French pastor and the world's patron saint of priests.

"What's amazing, is when you read about his life and the struggles he encountered in his own vocation and to see how various people intervened," said Msgr. William McCumber, pastor of St. Luke the Evangelist Parish in Richmond Heights and director of the Office of Sacred Worship for the archdiocese.

"We hear about all of the great things he did as a priest. But the parish process for him was a struggle. I think more importantly is that we see God's divine providence here."