Saint of the Three Nations
There are few in the calendar and in the history of the saints who consider their three distinct nations. One of them is the saint of today, the Czech national patron saint, St. Jan Nepomuk Neumann, bishop. Our Czech nation, and especially those of us in southern Bohemia, claim this saint. As you surely know, he was born on March 28, 1811, in Prachatice. His mother was Czech, as evidenced by her maiden name: Anežka Lepší. Young Jan studied in České Budějovice at the gymnasium and then at the theological faculty in Prague. However, his father, hosier Filip Neumann, was German, and German was spoken at home in his family. For this reason, even the Germans – especially the neighboring nation of the Bavarians – rightly consider him as their saint. The third nation that worships him with special piety is the Americans because Saint Jan Nepomuk Neumann worked blessedly in the States, he did much good here, and also died a holy death here as the fourth bishop of the city of Philadelphia. He is the first bishop from the United States to be canonized.
The vocation to the priesthood awoke in young John very early. It is said that he enjoyed ministering as a schoolboy and even made a small altar at home, at which he often prayed. Another story from his childhood is also known, which he recorded in his diary. When he once prayed before a meal, he made a large Latin cross instead of three small crosses. The old nanny immediately noticed this and remarked with a smile: “Look, our Honzíek will be a priest one day!” She guessed right, although Jan’s path to the priesthood was certainly not paved with roses. On the contrary – many different obstacles awaited him, but whom the Lord calls, He will also give him the strength to overcome all difficulties. So it was rather a thorny path, but young John knew very well that whoever decided to follow Christ the Lord must also carry his cross.
He had to overcome the first difficulties at home because his father wanted him to become a doctor. He did not spend the first years of his theological studies in a priestly seminary, but in a sublet with the widow Nováková. The seminarians from Budějovič then lived in the former Capuchin monastery, which was small and not enough for everyone. Nevertheless, Bishop Růžička recognized a gifted student in young Neumann and therefore sent him to further studies at the Faculty of Theology in Prague. There he also had to deal with the remnants of Josephine Freemasonry theories, which still tenaciously persisted in the opinions of some professors. However, they did not lead the young Neumann astray, rather, on the contrary, they increased his devotion to the Holy Church.
Then came another blow for which he was not prepared, and which must have caused him deep grief. He was already looking forward to his ordination, but the bishop postponed his ordination at the last minute. What happened? Nowadays it will sound incredible – almost like a fairy tale – when we hear that our dioceses had an excess of priests in the first half of the 19th century, and that the bishops did not have a suitable location for them. Today, on the other hand, we have already gotten used to their ever-increasing shortage, which is increasing year by year. At that time, however, there were more young priests than the bishops needed. Young theologians were forced to look for employment elsewhere – even outside their homeland if they did not want to wait a long time for a vacant position as a chaplain!
The young theologian Jan Nepomuk Neumann also followed this path. He did not think twice, and at the beginning of February 1836, he left for the United States with the permission and blessing of his bishop. There in New York, Bishop Dubois, who had previously been looking for priests in Europe, welcomed him with sincere joy and ordained him the same year, on June 25, 1836, in his cathedral. Patrick on the priest. We must bear in mind that the United States was still a mission territory at that time. They were only the states on the eastern Atlantic coast, since the great campaign to the Wild West, towards the Pacific, was just beginning. Immigrants from all over the world poured into North America, so the success of the priests’ pastoral work depended primarily on their language skills. However, Jan was very well prepared in this respect. He knew German and Czech, could also communicate in Polish,
Priest John’s first place of work was the Williamsville mission station near Niagara Falls. From there he made long journeys to distant villages, where he had to do everything necessary – from preaching to provisioning. Later, he found effective support in his brother Václav, who came to see him and helped him as a cook, church minister, and, catechist. The reputation of priest Jan Neumann grew greatly, as already in 1851 the archbishop of Baltimore chose him as his confessor and recommended him to the office of bishop in Philadelphia. At that time, however, Neumann was already a member of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer – popularly known as the Redemptorists, which he joined together with his brother Václav in 1840. On February 1, 1852, Pope Bl. Pius IX appointed Jan Nepomuk Neumann as the bishop of the city of Philadelphia, and the episcopal consecration followed in two months. Bishop Jan knew that he would not have an easy job.
Bishop Jan was truly blessed in his diocese. He built 80 new churches and founded over a hundred parish church schools. He is therefore rightly considered the father of American Catholic education. He also founded a small seminary for the growth of priestly vocations and reformed a large priestly seminary. He founded the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Francis. He is the author of two very successful and popular catechisms and Bible histories for children and youth. Thanks to his tireless care, the construction of the Philadelphia Cathedral was completed. He spent most of his time on episcopal and missionary visits to his diocese. During a visit to Rome in 1854, as part of the definition of the article of faith on the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, Philadelphia Bishop Jan Nepomuk Neumann told the Holy Father Pius IX that his diocese needed many more priests and that it still had only 35 schools with about 10,000 pupils. The Pope promised him help. In the following year, 1855, Bishop Neumann saw his native Bohemia for the last time and celebrated the pontifical mass of St. at the grave of his patron John of Nepomuk in the Cathedral of St. Welcome to Prague Castle. His native Prachatice also welcomed his native.
After all, since 1857, Bishop Jan had his work somewhat easier, because he got a bishop – coadjutor Jakub Bedřich Wood. He came from a banking family, so Neumann was happy to leave the financial issues of the diocese to him. He dedicated himself to spiritual service for his entrusted flocks and was a really good shepherd for them. He tirelessly cared for his sheep literally until the last moment of his life. And so his last day came. On January 5, 1860, while returning home, he fainted and fell on the pavement of the street. They brought him to his mansion already dead. Four days later, his successor, Bishop Wood, pronounced over his coffin the truly prophetic words: “This bishop was a saint.” And he was not wrong. In the second session of the Second Vatican Council, on October 13, 1963, the Holy Father Paul VI. beatified, and on June 19, 1977, the same Pope declared him a saint. Saint Jan Nepomuk Neumann drew strength from the cross of Christ and often repeated to himself: Passion of Christ, strengthen me! This is a great message for all of us – let us also try to draw strength from the cross of Christ. Let us too, following the example of Saint Bishop John, meditate on the suffering of Christ the Lord, let us seek help from the Mother of the Redeemer, the Virgin Mary, and so one day we too will reach eternal life in perfect joy. Saint John of Nepomuk Neumann, pray for us!
