Select your language

5 January: SAINT JOHN NEUMANN, BISHOP OF PHILADELPHIA

The first U.S. Bishop to be canonized

John Neumann, the first U.S. Bishop to be canonized, is best known for his pastoral and educational work. While serving as Bishop of Philadelphia, he founded the first diocesan Catholic school system in the United States of America.

John Neumann was born on 28 March 1811, in Prachatice, a small village in Bohemia, which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and was baptized on the same day, with the name John Nepomucene, in honour of the Patron Saint of the Bohemian people. He spoke German both at home and at school.

Following his primary education and his graduation from high school in in 1829, he studied

philosophy for an additional two years. On 1 November 1831, he entered the diocesan seminary of Budweis. However, after he had completed his studies and was ready to be ordained a priest, the Bishop informed him and his companions that there would be no ordinations because there were "too many priests".  He was asked to return home and wait.

But the young man was not discouraged. After reflecting on the Letters of Saint Paul and reading accounts of missionaries from the local Leopoldine Society, he decided to become a missionary, determined to be a priest, with a mission to serve migrants who were leaving for America.

On 8 February 1836, with little funds and not knowing which diocese would accept him, he decided to leave for America. Although he bid farewell to his sister, he did not have the courage to tell his mother about his departure. He set sail from Le Havre and arrived in Staten Island, New York, with just one dollar in his pocket and the clothes he was wearing. After speaking with the Diocese's representatives, he was advised to contact Bishop John Dubois and John Raffeiner, who was the Vicar General for Germans in New York.

Confident that John had received a rigorous education in the seminary, the Bishop decided to ordain him a priest as soon as possible. He was ordained subdeacon, deacon and priest in the same week, and was sent to carry out his pastoral mission in the Buffalo area, which stretched from Lake Ontario to Pennsylvania.

He had hoped to become a Bohemian missionary in a foreign land, but instead became a priest in a diocese that, at the time, covered all of New York State and part of New Jersey, with just 36 priests serving 200,000 Catholics.

There was an enormous need for German-speaking priests. Despite the thousands of immigrants in New York, there were only three priests who spoke German. He began to teach catechism to children preparing for their First Communion.

When he was 29 years old, his life changed and he joined the Congregation of the Most

Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists) in Pittsburgh. He made his religious vows as a member of the Congregation, in January 1842 in Baltimore, becoming the first member of the Order to profess vows in the United States. He served his ministry in Ohio, New York, and Baltimore, where he was naturalized as a U.S. citizen on 10 February 1848. Between 1849 and 1851, he served as parish priest of St. Augustine’s Church in Elkridge, Maryland.

On 5 February1852, Blessed Pius IX appointed him Bishop of Philadelphia. John immediately set to work to provide educational opportunities for immigrant children. He became the first bishop to organize a diocesan school system. During his episcopate, the number of parish schools in his diocese increased from one to 200. His ability to speak several languages helped integrate many immigrants into the church community. A great evangelizer and preacher, he was esteemed and regarded as a man of God.

He participated in Pope Pius IX's proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in Saint Peter's Basilica, on 8 December 1854.

He died suddenly on 5 January 1860, on a Philadelphia street, at the age of 48. He was buried in the church of Saint Peter, under the main altar.

On 13 October 1963, during the Second Vatican Council, he was beatified by Pope Paul VI, who later canonized him on 19 June 1977.

Select your language