Leonardo Defilippis as St. John Vianney
The theatrical one-man drama, “Vianney,” will be performed at 7 p.m. Monday, April 26, in the auditorium of the O’Shaughnessy Educational Center on the St. Paul campus of the University of St. Thomas.
The drama, performed by actor and director Leonardo Defilippis, is touring the country as part of the worldwide celebration of the Year for Priests and tells the story of St. John Vianney, the patron saint of priests.
Free and open to the public, the performance is co-sponsored by two seminaries associated with the university, the undergraduate St. John Vianney College Seminary and the graduate-level St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity.
“St. John Vianney was a great saint and parish priest whose humble service bore incredible fruit in his tiny city of Ars, France. This performance gives us an inspiring glimpse at his heroic life and shows all Christians, priests and lay people, that God grows a great tree out of a tiny mustard seed,” said Monsignor Aloysius Callaghan, rector of the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity.
St. John Vianney was born in 1786 and ordained 1815. He spent most of his priesthood in the village of Ars. Thousands journeyed there to receive his spiritual counsel; he regularly spent 14 to 18 hours a day hearing confessions. John Vianney was canonized in 1925.
Defilippis is known for his direction and role in the feature film “Therese.” His nonprofit Saint Luke Productions has produced films and television programs on the lives of the saints and Scriptures for 30 years.
For more information call the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity at (651) 962-505 or visit the Saint Luke Productions’ Web site .
