Q: St. John Marie Vianney is the patron saint of priests and is put forward as model and inspiration to our seminarians in the Philippines. St. John Vianney is listed in the General Calendar and in our local calendar as a memorial. Is it possible to celebrate it as a feast or even as a solemnity in the seminary? That means the proper readings for the feast be proclaimed instead of the ferial readings and also the Liturgy of the Hours’ antiphon and psalms taken from the Common of Pastors.
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A: The Curé of Ars is a great inspiration to us priests. I’ve had the privilege of visiting Ars on a couple of occasions.
Saint John Vianney remains a memorial on the calendar, even at seminaries. Even as a memorial, the Mass of the saint may include the recommended readings for August 4 from the Proper of Saints in the lectionary. You also have the option of choosing different readings from the Common of Pastors if for some reason you’d like to change one or more of them.
In the missal, the collect for August 4 is proper, and you may add other presidential prayers from the Common of Pastors and use the preface for pastors.
For the Liturgy of the Hours, the antiphons and psalms remain those of the weekday because none is proper for St. John, but see the particular instructions in the General Instruction, paragraphs 235-236. https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/general-instruction-on-the-liturgy-of-the-hours-2175. You use other antiphons and readings from the Common of Pastors.
Although you do not sing the Gloria or add a third reading at Mass, there is still much you can do at Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours to honor the memory of this saint.