Faith in History / Sean Gallagher

St. John Neumann was the first American bishop to be declared a saint

This month in this series on saints from America to mark the 250th anniversary of its founding, we explore the life of St. John Neumann.

Born on March 28, 1811, in what is now Czechia or the Czech Republic (part of the former Czechoslovakia), Neumann showed himself from a young age to have a great intellect. He was especially adept at learning languages, eventually being fluent in six modern languages in addition to knowing Latin, Greek and Hebrew.

Neumann (pronounced “NOY-man”) felt called by God to put his gifts to the use of the Church. However, after he completed his priestly formation in 1836 in Prague, he learned that his home diocese had no need of additional priests at the time, and he would not be ordained.

At the same time, Neumann felt drawn to serve as a missionary in the United States. Among the bishops in the country he was advised to contact was Bishop Simon Bruté, the first shepherd of the Diocese of Vincennes, Ind., which later became the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.

Neumann apparently wrote to Bishop Bruté to see if he would ordain him to serve the Church in Indiana but did not receive a reply.

In fact, Neumann had not received any letters from bishops in the U.S. when he left La Havre, France, on April 7, 1836. Within days of arriving in New York in early June, Neuman met Bishop John Dubois of the Diocese of New York. The bishop quickly agreed to ordain him after learning of Neumann’s qualifications. By the end of the month, Neumann was a priest and was on his way to Buffalo in western New York.

For the next four years, Father Neumann served in a series of small towns near Buffalo, where many German-speaking Catholic immigrants lived.

The constant travel over that time, often on foot, left Father Neumann physically and mentally exhausted. During a three-month break from ministry in 1840, he recognized his need to live with other priests and discerned a call to life and ministry as a priest within a religious community.

Father Neumann contacted the superior in the U.S. for the Redemptorist order, whom he had met in 1836. He was soon admitted to the congregation.

For about 10 years, Father Neumann served as a Redemptorist in parishes of German-speaking Catholics in Ohio and Baltimore. On Feb. 5, 1852, Pope Pius IX appointed Neumann as bishop of Philadelphia.

Over the next eight years, Bishop Neumann worked tirelessly to serve the faithful of Philadelphia, overseeing the building of 80 churches and 30 parish schools. He fostered devotion to the Eucharist through having 40-hour devotions take place in parishes across the diocese. He promoted Catholic education by establishing the first diocesan system of Catholic schools.

Through all this activity, Bishop Neumann’s personal austerity and humility became well known. Any money he received as a gift, he gave away. The few clothes he had were worn and shabby.

He died at the age of 48 on Jan. 5, 1860, after collapsing on a sidewalk in Philadelphia, likely succumbing to a heart attack or stroke.

Bishop Neumann’s cause for beatification and canonization began in the late 19th century. He was beatified at the Vatican in 1963 during the Second Vatican Council and declared a saint in 1977. His feast is celebrated on Jan. 5.

St. John Neumann was the first bishop from America to be declared a saint. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, who is scheduled to be beatified later this month on Sept. 24 in St. Louis, could become the second.

St. John Neumann, pray for us. †