Confessor, Cure d'Ars, born Dardilly, near Lyons, France, 1786; died Ars, France, 1859. Overcoming the difficulties caused by a meager primary school education and defective talents, he was ordained in 1815 and sent for a time to Ecully. In 1818 he was made parish priest at Ars, a remote French hamlet, where his exercise of the sacred ministry, especially in the direction of souls, made him known throughout the Christian world. Persons of all ranks and conditions of life sought his advice and in 1855 the number of pilgrims to Ars had reached 20,000 a year. He led a life of extreme mortification and performed numerous miracles. Canonized, 1925. Feast, Roman Calendar, August 9,.