St. John Neumann

St. John Neumann was born on 28 March 1811 at Prachatitz in Bohemia, then part of the Austrian Empire. Trained for the priesthood there, he longed to serve the immigrants of the New World and emigrated to the United States in 1836, where he was ordained in New York and labored among the German-speaking Catholics of the frontier. He joined the Redemptorist order in 1842, becoming its first member to profess vows in America.

In 1852 he was made bishop of Philadelphia, where his energy transformed the local Church. A gifted linguist said to have spoken many languages, he founded scores of parishes and is especially remembered for organizing the first diocesan Catholic school system in the country, multiplying parochial schools to educate the children of the poor and of immigrants. He also introduced the Forty Hours Eucharistic devotion throughout his diocese. He died suddenly in Philadelphia on 5 January 1860. Canonized in 1977, he was the first American bishop to be declared a saint.