Saint Nicholas Planas: the prodigious life of a simple man

Born in 1851 on the island of Naxos in the Cyclades and educated by his maternal grandfather, an old pope who taught him to love the beauty and solemnity of the Orthodox liturgy, Nicholas (Nikolaos) Planas was attracted to the priesthood at an early age. Ordained in 1884, he took up residence in a modest church in a working-class district of Athens. His love of prayer and the Mass would nourish him throughout his life, explaining his many charisms: apparitions of angels and saints at his side, levitations, premonitions, reading of souls, ecstasies, etc. He fell asleep in the Lord on 2 March 1932 and for three days countless crowds came to venerate his remains.

Icon of Saint Nicholas Planas / © Traditional Icons UMS.

Les raisons d'y croire :

The many mystical phenomena that marked the life of Father Nicholas Planas are attested to by many different witnesses. The best known are the two famous Greek writers A. Papadiamandis (1851 - 1911) and A. Moraitidis (1850 - 1929), who were close friends of his, and Saint Nectarios of Aegina (1846 - 1920). The process for the canonisation of Nicholas Planas began in 1992, only sixty years after his death. It was carried out according to strict standards, and made it possible to collect and preserve testimonies and documents relating to his life.

In 1861, on the Greek island of Naxos, Nicholas, aged around ten, suddenly announced to his parents during family prayers: "Father, I must warn you that our ship, the Evangelistria, is sinking off the coast of Constantinople". The father was taken aback and did not take his words seriously, but the news was soon confirmed: the Evangelistria had sunk at the time and place indicated by the young boy, who would never forget this premonition, even though he believed for a long time that all children possessed this gift. This was the first miraculous event in the life of the man who was to become one of the greatest modern Orthodox saints.

Nicholas felt the desire to become a priest from an early age, but great difficulties thwarted his vocation, as is often the case with men called to an exceptional priesthood. After his family became bankrupt, and his father died when Nicholas was 14, Nicholas' mother couldn't afford sending him to the seminary, and to ensure that he would not lead an immoral life, she insisted that he marry at the age of 17. Nicholas obeyed, but he never gave up on his vocation, which bears witness to the reality and strength of God's call. In 1884, the death of his wife enabled him to devote himself entirely to his ministry, having been ordained a priest and taken a vow of celibacy and chastity.

Appointed to the parish of St Panteleimon, he was dismissed because of his intellectual shortcomings (he was not reading fluently and could not count). With nowhere to go, he broke down in tears on the side of the road in a suburb of Athens. A stranger came up to him and asked why he was crying. Nicolas explained that he used to serve the parish of St Panteleimon, but had just been expelled. The young man helped him up to his feet and said: "I am Saint Panteleimon; you can be sure that I will always be by your side."This promise was to prove true on several occasions, including when he fell seriously ill: the saint brought him a remedy that cured him instantly, as all those who had seen him dying an hour earlier would testify. The apparition also pointed him to a small church, St John the Hunter, in the working-class suburb of Vouligméni, which had no priest because it was home to fewer than ten poor families. The Patriarchate of Athens appointed Nicholas to that church shortly afterwards.

During a feast of St Phocas, those present were surprised to see a shining stranger at the altar. Nicholas explained that it was the martyr and that these celestial presences were ordinary when he celebrated, showing that the liturgy of earth was united with that of heaven.

On other days, the children came home to tell their parents that "Papa Nicholas flew away during mass and became all shiny". As these levitations, occurring before witnesses, became more frequent, the mothers had to tell their children - in order to preserve the saint's peace - that this happens to all priests when they celebrate the divine liturgy.

On other days, it was angels who appeared at the altar or in his daily life, such as one evening when, having lost his way, Nicholas was led home by a radiant young man who said evasively: "I am a very sure guide". It was outside his door, when he saw his obliging companion disappear, that Nicholas recognised his guardian angel.

Crowds soon flocked to this modest church in an underprivileged neighbourhood - proof that unusual things were happening there. The rumour of supernatural phenomena had spread, but people mostly wanted to see this priest celebrate with incredible fervor, rapt in ecstasy; or preach, even if he spoke badly, but with such a love of God that "the hardest hearts were converted by hearing him "; or go to confession to him; or benefit from his advice.

Jesus' promise to his disciples - "If they drink poisons it will not hurt them" (Mk 16:18) - came true when Nicholas accidentally drank the contents of a bottle of arsenic, which had the same effect on him as a glass of water.

Father Nicholas led an evangelical life. His spirit of poverty and abandonment to divine providence never let him keep more than one or two drachmas. He asked for nothing for his liturgies, taking what he was given, which he immediately redistributed to help the poor, found a home for orphaned girls, and finance the studies of deserving boys. Some people stole from him, insulted him, mocked him, but they came up against his seraphic smile and ended up being converted. He always forgave everyone.

It was common knowledge that seeing him attracted divine blessings. People knelt as he passed, and at the end of his days, when he could barely walk, taxi drivers competed to transport him for free, certain that they would be protected from accidents and have a good day. This great enthusiasm for someone so modest and simple suggests the extraordinary power of God at work through him.

Synthèse :

Like many Greek islanders, the Planas made a living from coastal shipping. When their boat sank they were bankrupt. In addition to this material loss, the father felt guilty about his sailors. Burdened with remorse and financial worries, he died when his son Nicholas was fourteen. His widow moved to Athens, but she could not afford to send Nicholas to the seminary and, fearing that he would lead a disorderly life, she decided to marry him off, although the teenager, true to his dream of becoming a priest and his desire for perfection (the Orthodox Church accepts marriage for clerics), preferred to remain celibate.

At seventeen, he married Eleni, who gave him a son but understood nothing of his mystical aspirations. Exasperated, she gave him a hard time, but Nicholas, "filled with the Holy Spirit", didn't complain about his lot. He persevered in his vocation, but came up against a new obstacle: his lack of education. He couldn't read fluently, or count. However, God's grace helped him to become a deacon.

Just before his ordination to the priesthood in 1884, Eleni died, leaving him free to lead a celibate life dedicated to God. Nicholas then took a vow of definitive celibacy and chastity (not required of popes), renouncing remarriage - a sign of his quest for holiness and priestly perfection. In the same evangelical spirit, he renounced what was left of his father's inheritance in Naxos, and sold everything to give the money to a neighbour in debt.

Nicholas was appointed to the parish of Saint Panteleimon in Athens, but he displeased the clergy and some of the faithful. His academic shortcomings were obvious: he stumbled over complicated words when he read the Gospel, stammered when he was moved, and could not count the sums given for liturgies. His own being judged too long, he didn't receive a stipend. The other priests demanded his dismissal. He did not complain, even though it was his very evangelical life that was being criticised, as it highlighted the shortcomings of his peers.

The patriarchate sent him to serve the church of St John the Hunter, in a very poor neighbourhood. Papa-Nicholas was able to lead the evangelical life of his dreams, devoted to prayer, the Holy Sacrifice, his apostolate and works of charity, never asking for a penny for his services, living off herbs picked in the street and the generosity of those who gave him a glass of milk or a piece of bread. His love of the Mass (Divine Liturgy) led him to start at eight in the morning and finish in the early afternoon, so absorbed was he in the holy sacrifice. Every day, he added the agrypnies - the entire monastic hours - the memento of the dead recommended to him (between 2,000 and 3,000 names for which he prayed for years), and all the saints he could think of, so as to better unite the liturgy on earth with that of heaven.

Even though he still read and preached as badly as ever, his holiness shone through for all to see, and crowds flocked to his endless celebrations. Mystical phenomena - ecstasies, levitations, apparitions, dreams, premonitions, protection from poisons - were so commonplace in his life that he came to believe them to be ordinary. He also read people's hearts, as on the day when, refusing the offering of a woman he didn't know who was bringing bread for consecration, he said to her: "I cannot receive them from your hands until you marry the man you live with." The most brilliant intellectuals of his time also came to hear him and became very attached to him, such as the great writer Papadiamandis, who said of him: "He was the humblest of priests and the simplest of men".

On 2 March 1932, Nicholas fell ill while celebrating the holy mysteries. He was taken home and died shortly afterwards. The Patriarchate of Athens canonised him in 1992.

Anne Bernet is a Church History specialist, postulator of a cause for beatification, and journalist for a number of Catholic media. She has written over forty books, most of them devoted to sanctity.

Au-delà des raisons d'y croire :

Alexandros Papadiamandis wrote in an article about Father Nicolas Planas: “He is worthy of the Savior's first beatitude” (cf. Mt 5:1-12).

Aller plus loin :

Papa-Nicholas Planas, 1851-1932: The simple shepherd of the simple sheep ; the life and endeavors of the priest Nicholas Planas by Ourania Papadopoulos, Holy Transfiguration Monastery (January 1, 2001)