St. John Neumann

John Neumann was born in 1811 in Bohemia. He was preparing for ordination in 1835, but his bishop decided that the area had too many priests and called a halt to ordinations. John wrote to other European bishops, but they too decided their areas had enough priests. America seemed the only route open to him, for the United States had a shortage of priests. Providentially, Neumann had learned English while working in a factory with workers who spoke the language. The bishop of New York agreed to ordain John if he would minister in America. In New York, John performed the work of many priests; his parish in western New York extended from Lake Ontario to Pennsylvania. He spent his days traveling between villages to say Mass and visit the sick. He joined the Redemptorists and in 1852 he became bishop of Philadelphia. He organized the United States’ first diocesan Catholic school system, adding 98 schools to the 2 already in the diocese. As bishop he continued to visit as many churches as he could, good-humoredly riding in conveyances such as the manure wagon one pastor picked up him in. He included all ethnic groups in his ministry. He learned Spanish, French, Italian and Dutch, so that he could hear confessions in six languages. When Irish immigration increased, he also learned Gaelic. John Neumann died suddenly on January 5, 1860 to the great sorrow of his people; he was forty-eight. He was canonized in 1977; his feast is January 5.