St. John Neumann

St. John Neumann (born March 28, 1811, Prachatice, Bohemia [now in Czech Republic]—died January 5, 1860, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.; canonized June 19, 1977; feast day January 5) was the bishop of Philadelphia and a leader in the Roman Catholic parochial school system in the United States. Born in what is now the Czech Republic, he emigrated and became the first male U.S. citizen to be canonized. He is venerated as a patron saint of teachers, educators, sick children, and immigrants.

After studies at the University of Prague, Neumann’s interest in missions in the United States took him to New York, where he was ordained a priest in 1836. In 1840 he joined the Redemptorists, a religious congregation dedicated to parish and foreign missions, and he later became superior of all Redemptorists in the United States. In 1852 Pope Pius IX named him bishop of Philadelphia.

Neumann spent the rest of his life building churches, schools, and asylums for his diocese. He was devoted to education and was the first ecclesiastic to organize a diocesan school system in the United States He was the first American bishop to be beatified, and he was canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1977.