The feast day of St. John N. Neumann is celebrated on January 5. He was a Redemptorist priest and bishop. He is the patron of sick children and of immigrants and Catholic education.
St. John Neumann was born in Bohemia in 1811. Due to the shortage of priests in the colonies, he traveled to New York to be ordained a priest and worked in an isolated parish. Father John eventually joined the Redemptorists who were dedicated to helping the poor and abandoned. In 1852, he was appointed Bishop of Philadelphia. He increased the number of Catholic schools from two to a hundred.
The desire to hear confessions led St. John Neumann to learn at least six languages. He knew Spanish, English, French, Italian, Dutch and Gaelic.
While doing errands on January 5, 1860, Neumann collapsed and died on a Philadelphia street. He was 48 years old. After his death the National Shrine of St. John Neumann was constructed at the Parish of St. Peter the Apostle in Philadelphia. Our Lady of the Angels College, founded by the Congregation of Franciscan Sisters which he had founded was renamed. It became known as the Neumann College. It was later given University status.
St. John Neumann was beatified on Oct. 13, 1963 by Pope Paul VI. He was canonized on June 19, 1977 by Pope Paul VI.
“A man must always be ready for death,
for death comes when and where God wills it.”
Quote of St. John N. Neumann
January is the Month of the Holy Name