Ars-sur-Formans is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Ain Ain (, ; frp, En) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where it ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in the

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...

region of eastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Geography

Vialatte - AMBERIEU - Gare des Tramways de Cerdon et Ars

The village is in the south-western part of the

department 33 km north of

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

and 10 km east of

Villefranche-sur-Saône Villefranche-sur-Saône (, ; frp, Velafranche) is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France. It lies 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the river Saône, and is around north of Lyon. The inhabitants of the town are called ''Caladois''. Hi ...

in the heart of the

Dombes The Dombes (; Arpitan: Domba) is an area in eastern France, once an independent municipality, formerly part of the province of Burgundy, and now a district comprised in the department of Ain, and bounded on the west by the Saône River, on the s ...

region - known for its many lagoons. Ars-sur-Formans is on the Dombes plateau while to the west it borders the fertile hills of the Val de Saône. A small river, the Formans, runs from east to west across the commune just south of the village to join the

Saône The Saône ( , ; frp, Sona; lat, Arar) is a river in eastern France. It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department and joining the Rhône in Lyon, at the southern end of the Presqu'île. The name deri ...

river near Saint-Bernard. The commune covers . The D44 road from Savigneux west to Beauregard forms much of the northern border of the commune. Access to the village is by road D904 going west from Savigneux and continuing to join the D934 west of the commune. The road D888 also runs south-east of the village to

Rancé Rancé () is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France. It is about 20 km north of Lyon. Population See also *Communes of the Ain department The following is a list of the 393 communes of the Ain department of France. The ...

.Google Maps
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Toponymy

The name of the commune comes from ''Arsa'' meaning "burnt". Long known simply as ''Ars'', the commune changed its name to ''Ars-sur-Formans'' by a decree of 12 October 1956 published in the Official Journal on the 18th of the same month.

History

The name ''Ars'' appeared as early as the year 969. In the 11th century Ars was one of the many strongholds of the Lordship of Villars and his mansion was located next to the church. In 1226 Jean of Ars sold his land to the monastery of

Île Barbe The Île Barbe is an island situated in the middle of the Saône, in the 9th arrondissement de Lyon, the quartier Saint-Rambert-l'Île-Barbe (a former-commune annexed in 1963). Its name comes from the Latin ''insula barbara'', "Barbarians' Islan ...

but Villars retained sovereignty. In the 14th century, the protection of the castle was divided between the Lord of Villars and that of Beaujeu. The village was burned by the troops of Viry in 1409 and was obliged to submit to the consequences of the

Wars of Religion A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...

throughout the following century. The parish of Ars belonged to the Principality of

and the Châtellenie of

Trévoux Trévoux (; frp, Trevôrs) is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France. The inhabitants are known as Trévoltiens. It is a suburb of Lyon, built on the steeply sloping left bank of the river Saône. History In AD 843, the treaty of ...

before being absorbed with all of the Dombes, into the Kingdom of France in 1762. In 1790 Ars was made a commune of the Ain Department. It was part of the

canton of Trévoux The canton of Trévoux is an administrative division in eastern France. At the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015, the canton was expanded from 6 to 12 communes: * Beauregard * Frans * Jassans-Riottier *Massieux * ...

until 1984, when it was attached to the

canton of Reyrieux The canton of Reyrieux is a former administrative division in eastern France. It was disbanded following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. It had 22,954 inhabitants (2012).canton of Villars-les-Dombes The canton of Villars-les-Dombes is an administrative division in eastern France. At the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015, the canton was expanded from 10 to 25 communes: *Ambérieux-en-Dombes *Ars-sur-Formans * ...

. Since the mid-19th century, the name of Ars is associated with its canonized parish-priest, Saint

Jean-Marie Vianney John Vianney (born Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney; 8 May 1786 – 4 August 1859), venerated as Saint John Vianney, was a French Catholic priest who is venerated in the Catholic Church as a saint and as the patron saint of parish priests. He is oft ...

. Well before his 1925 canonisation by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

there were many pilgrimages. On 6 October 1986, Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

travelled to the village of Ars-sur-Formans, during his third visit to France.

Heraldry

Administration

List of Mayors of Ars-sur-Formans

Twinning

Ars-sur-Formans has twinning associations with: * Freihalden (Germany) since 1977.

Population

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

The commune has many sites that are registered as historical monuments: *The Park on the Chemin de Chateau *The Girls' School and Orphanage of Providence (1827) *A House at Rue des Ecoles (19th century) *A School at Rue des Ecoles (1906) *A House at Rue Jean-Marie Vianney (19th century) *The Town Hall / School at Rue Jean-Marie Vianney (1840) *The Sainte-Philomène Garden at Rue Jean-Marie Vianney *The Chateau des Garets Park *The Sainte-Anne Farmhouse at Champ du Chateau (19th century)

Religious heritage

The commune has several religious buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments: *The Croix des Combes (Combes Cross) (1853) *The Monumental Cross of the 1847 Jubilee (1847) *The Croix Micholet (Micholet Cross) (1612) *The Croix Tonneau (Tonneau Cross) (18th century) *The Presbytery for the Priest of Ars (18th century) *The former Church and

Basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

(12th century) *The Garnier des Garets family Tomb (1856) *The Presbytery (1886) *The Presbytery of Saint Curé d'Ars (18th century) The Presbytery and the chapel containing the relic of the heart of Saint Curé are now a museum and open to visitors. The reception desk and the spiritual activities of the sanctuary are organised by the priests of the sanctuary: the congregation of

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

nuns called the Tyburn Nuns and the ''Brothers of the Holy Family of Belley''. The year 2009 marked the Jubilee of the 150th anniversary of the death of Saint

. On the occasion of the sacred international year for priests 2009-2010 the sanctuary hosted nearly 600,000 pilgrims including 35,000 priests. The ''Historial du Saint-Curé-d'Ars'' revives the decor of the period and reconstitutes in 17 scenes and 35 wax figures the history of the Curé of Ars. Ars is part of the Association of sanctuaries in France, and holds the title "tourist village of Ain". *The Parish Church of Saint-Sixte (11th century) The Basilica of Ars, partly built in 1862 by the Lyon architect

Pierre Bossan Pierre-Marie Bossan (23 July 1814, in Lyon – 23 July 1888, in La Ciotat) was a French historicist architect, a pupil of Henri Labrouste, specialising in ecclesiastical architecture. Life and work In 1844 he was appointed architect to the di ...

and his successor Sainte-Marie-Perrin, forms an extension to the old church. It houses the remains of Saint

, the parish-priest of Ars and the patron saint of all parish priests. This place of pilgrimage hosts more than 500,000 people each year. *The Tomb of the heart of Jean-Marie Vianney (1932) The commune has a very large number of religious items that are registered as historical objects.

Local life

Religious communities

*Several religious communities are present in Ars: the ''Working Missionary Sisters'' (Providence House), the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

Sisters (Saint-Jean House), the

Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

Sisters, the

Benedictines , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre, the Brothers of the Holy Family of Belley (Guardians of the Sanctuary), the priests of the Jean-Marie Vianney Society (John Paul II Sacred Hall for the reception of priests and for International Seminar for the training of priests). File:Entrée de l'escalier conduisant à l'église souterraine de Notre-Dame-de-la-Miséricorde.JPG, Entrance to the underground Notre-Dame-de-la-Miséricorde File:Église souterraine de Notre-Dame-de-la-Miséricorde (Ars-sur-Formans) - escalier.JPG, Staircase to the underground Notre-Dame-de-la-Miséricorde

Events

*On the second Sunday in February: Feast of the arrival of the Saint (evocation of the arrival of the Saint at the Meeting Monument, procession, solemn Mass, adoration of the blessed Sacrement,

vespers Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern), Lutheranism, Lutheran, and Anglican ...

with

catechism A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult c ...

) *the Sunday following Easter Sunday:

Divine Mercy Sunday Divine Mercy Sunday (also known as the Feast of the Divine Mercy) is celebrated on the Second Sunday of Easter, which concludes the Octave of Easter. The feast day is observed in the Roman Rite calendar, as well as some Anglo-Catholics of the ...

(Mass, education, Solemn Vespers ... *Every Wednesday in June: Groups of children at home (visit, Mass, games) *in May or June, Mass and Procession of

Corpus Christi (feast) The Feast of Corpus Christi (), also known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, is a Christian liturgical solemnity celebrating the Real Presence of the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ in the elements of ...

in the village; *4 August (anniversary of the death of the Saint): Festival of the Saint Curé (Lauds, Solemn Mass, Procession, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Vespers, spiritual concert *8 December: feast of the Immaculate Conception, lighting the village and entertainments ;Event at the Carmel of Saint Curé of Ars founded in 1939 *In 1986 and 2007 the movie-art-recreation association made two films about ''Carmel of the Holy Curé of Ars'' in the movie series "Relief of France: the monasteries" and a paper on

during his meeting with the

Carmelites , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

on 6 October 1986.This archived document is visible in the video: ''Dialogue at Carmel of Saint Curé of Ars'' o
cine-art-loisir.com
by Jean Claude Guerguy, Director

Personalities

*The commune is the homeland of Saint Curé of Ars -