Coached by the Curé: A Catholic Blueprint for Parents

Coached by the Curé: A Catholic Blueprint for Parents

by Marge Hynes, Writer

You may not wear a cassock, but if you lead grace over cheesy macaroni or explain guardian angels between diaper changes, you’ve entered into the “domestic priesthood.”

In Coached by the Curé, Kevin Wells, guided by the fiery heart of St. John Vianney, doesn’t just encourage parents to raise little saints–he shows them how to be holy themselves right in the mess of family life. With candor and the wisdom of the Curé d’Ars, this book equips modern Catholic families for the long haul: sainthood.

Meet Your New Mentor: The Curé d’Ars

The premise of Coached by the Curé is both imaginative and inspired: What if St. John Vianney—the beloved Curé d’Ars and patron saint of parish priests—became the spiritual coach for modern Catholic parents and families?

To accomplish this, Kevin Wells blends a biography of St. John Vianney with a “piercing love letter written from paradise to the millions of suffering moms and dads who’ve lost their children,” as it is described in the press release. The saint speaks directly to readers, urging parents to rise, to repent, and to lead.

It’s a bold creative move, and it works. Suddenly, Vianney isn’t a relic of 19th-century France. He’s here in the 21st century, urging us toward holiness in the harrowing chaos of today’s reality.

The Domestic Priesthood

At the heart of Coached by the Curé is the domestic priesthood: the responsibility parents hold, through the sacrament of marriage, as the primary spiritual formators of their children.

The family is, so to speak, the domestic church. In it, parents should, by their word and example, be the first preachers of the faith to their children. 

–Lumen Gentium 11

Wells, through Vianney, presents this role not as a burden, but as a calling set apart. He invites parents to evangelize their homes, to make faith tangible, embodied, and ever-present. Wells structures his message around the virtues of St. John Vianney as practical tools for spiritual warfare:

• Resilience Against Satan: “who prowls about the world seeking the ruin of souls.”
• Eucharistic Love: centering family life around the Source and Summit.
• Devotion to Mary: placing our families under her mantle.
• Courage: to stand firm when truth is mocked.
• Prayer: as the heartbeat of the home.
• Penance: not just for Lent, but as a daily offering.

For me, courage leaps off the page as perhaps the most urgent virtue for our time. It takes grit to speak truth with love, to say no when the world screams yes, and to live a sacramental life ordered toward Heaven. I think of the words of Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI):

Man was created for greatness—for God himself; he was created to be filled by God. But his heart is too small for the greatness to which it is destined. It must be stretched . . . 

I was also pleasantly surprised by how each chapter closes with a kind of examen—questions to ponder, Scripture to meditate on, and challenges to take up. In Chapter 5, for instance, we’re asked by Vianney to examine where Satan may have gained a foothold in our lives and to actively seek the grace to root him out.

Wells also paints vivid glimpses into Vianney’s life to show us a priest who transformed a spiritually barren village with relentless confession marathons, Eucharistic Adoration, devotion to Mary, and a holy sort of stubbornness. Why? To challenge readers. If one priest could stir a spiritual revolution in a forgotten French town, what might a handful of parents do today?

Wells symbolically dubs Vianney the “Patron Saint of the Domestic Priesthood”–a spiritual father for families weary from the fight but hungry for the truth. We see Vianney’s grit and, most especially, his humility in this book. Vianney embodies “turning the other cheek” in such a gentle, intentional way that the reader can’t help but feel convicted. 

[Fr. Tochu] wrote, “It seemed as if [Vianney] were endued with extraordinary strength from Heaven . . . Beneath the covering of an attenuated, almost transparent body, the soul of the Curé d’Ars shone forth. (153-154)

So poignant are the times we live in that at one point in this book, the Curé d’Ars “[removes his] coaching cap . . . [and writes] to [us] from [his] knees” (72). Our reality is so spiritually disordered that he can do nothing else–he literally begs us to turn to Christ. Through his own magnanimity and story, Saint John Vianney asks us:

How are you living your life?

Is it a life that bears fruit? 

Is it a life that wills the good of the other? 

What are you doing to bring about the conversion of souls? As Mama T of Calcutta reminded the Missionaries of Charity at their founding, their mission—and ours—is “to quench the thirst of Jesus for souls, for love, for kindness, for compassion, for delicate love.”

For Parents, Priests, and Everyone Else

In short, Coached by the Curé isn’t just for parents. It’s for anyone invested in the renewal of the Church from the ground up.

It’s a heartfelt, hard-hitting, hope-filled invitation to reclaim our homes as places of grace, to lead with love, and to build up little saints within the domestic church.

If you’re a parent overwhelmed by the weight of your vocation, unsure where to start, or simply craving deeper purpose, this book is for you. Vianney, through Wells’ pen, will not let you off the hook.

But he will remind you: You are not alone.

You either belong wholly to the world or wholly to God. 

–St. John Vianney

Tune into our latest episode of A Resounding Yes! for more from author, award-winning journalist, Catholic speaker, and former Major League Baseball writer Kevin Wells. In a resonating conversation with Paloma & Fig founder Christina Sabo, Wells opens up about his journey of faith, the inspiration behind his previous book, The Hermit, his experiences with addiction, and the role of priests in healing and recovery. The conversation also touches on family life, the impact of Father Flume, and Coached by the Curé. 

Coached by the Curé is available from Scepter as part of a series of books gleaning lessons from the saints who guide and inspire our lives in the faith. The Hermit is available from Ignatius Press. 

---

With over eight years of experience and a Bachelor’s in Creative Writing, Marge Hynes is a dynamic writer whose portfolio spans SEO-driven copywriting, journalism, and marketing—a versatile skill set that allows her to craft compelling content for Paloma & Fig’s projects.

Marge’s Catholic faith serves as the cornerstone of her work. She approaches storytelling with thoughtfulness and a deep appreciation for the Lord’s own creative power. Her love of the written word shines through in every project, helping clients articulate their message with clarity, heart, and purpose.

When she’s not writing, Marge can be found leading praise and worship, diving into theological books, or exploring the great outdoors with her loyal dog, Augustine (Auggie for short).