Diary of a Country Priest

Today’s post is from June at Schimelpfenig Library:

The Diary of a Country Priest by Georges Bernanos

The Diary of a Country Priest was first published in 1937 and is the fictional diary of a young French country priest who tends to the needs of his provincial parishioners.

Discovering this book was pure serendipity.  From time-to-time, I would come across quotes from this book that other authors would use to illustrate a point.  After reading enough of them, my interest was piqued.  Thus began my exposure to what Remy Rougeau describes in his introduction to the book as “a tale of the young Ambricourt priest whose steady physical decline and suffering were in proportion to his spiritual growth.”

The true beauty of this story is the depth of humility that this young fictional servant of God possessed.  His life and trials linger with me still and I would recommend The Diary of a Country Priest  without reservation.

I have found that the movie, entitled Journal d’un Cure de Campagne Diary of a Country Priest released in 1950 (French with English subtitles), is an accurate representation of Bernanos’ novel.

Awarded the Grand Prix for Literature by the Academie Francaise, this book was also picked by USA Today as the best spiritual book of the 20th century.