French priest’s 150-year-old heart being venerated in NYC

The 150-year-old heart of a French priest is on a U.S. tour — a Roman Catholic relic with New York City as its latest stop.

It was on display Saturday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue, where the faithful and the curious lined up to see the human organ behind glass. The Knights of Columbus fraternity is sponsoring the pilgrimage of this heart, which has been to 28 states so far, with more coming up.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, will lead a Sunday procession venerating the heart of Saint John Vianney, who was a priest in the southern French town of Ars, outside Lyon. He lived during the French Revolution, helping to hide priests on the run.

The tradition of preserving the body parts of saintly Catholics goes back to the Middle Ages in Italy. When St. Catherine of Siena died in Rome, her hometown of Siena wanted her remains. But they didn’t want to get caught making off with the whole body, and decided to take just her head.