Aliens in This World

Since January 5th is the feastday of St. John Neumann, bishop of Philadelphia (the one in Pennsylvania!), it seems timely to remind people of what they never taught us in religion or history class — that St. John Neumann served in an Ohio parish for a while! He also did missionary and parish work in New York (particularly around Buffalo and Rochester), Maryland, and Virginia as well as Pennsylvania (particularly around Pittsburgh).

St. John Neumann was from Prachatice in Bohemia (now the Czech Republic), and his native tongues were German and Bohemian (Czech). He attended school at the Budweis Gymnasium — high school — which makes him a Budweiser. He learned English while working in his father’s factory with English-speaking workers. Eventually, to serve the demands of the missions and then of his diocese, he also learned to speak Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, and Irish Gaelic. (Of course he knew Greek and Latin too, from the seminary and from his secular education.) Originally he was ordained a priest in the New York diocese; after he collapsed from overwork (for the first of many times), he was permitted to join the Redemptorists. They sent him all over the place during his novitiate, and then sent him more places once he’d joined up. He rarely spent as long as a year in one place until he became a bishop.

He wrote two children’s catechisms (one in German, one in English) and served as temporary head of the US Redemptorists. He also recruited the School Sisters of Notre Dame to come over to the US from Munich. He also acted as chaplain to the Oblate Sisters of Providence (an order of African American sisters based in Baltimore) and successfully lobbied to keep them from being disbanded.

Eventually he was made a bishop. To his horror. He literally appealed to Rome, and was ordered by the Pope, on his Redemptorist vow of obedience, to accept! He was consecrated a bishop on his 41st birthday.

He built 98 Catholic schools in his diocese. Before that, of course, his missionary and pastoral activity made him a teacher of all ages of Catholics. He created the model for the parochial school system which would spread across America and thrive for over a hundred years, providing Catholics of all economic levels with a quality education and a strength of religious conviction, in a country where they were a minority. He brought over many orders of religious to this country to help staff his schools; and he founded an order, now known as the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia.

He died in 1860 at the age of 48, after having crammed a long lifetime of achievement into a few short years. He should be a wonderful example to us of what wonderful things can be achieved by working hard for the Lord. (Also, that priests shouldn’t be discouraged by small numbers and big parishes. When he was ordained, he was sent to serve the whole Niagara Province! Alone!)

So Ohioans, support your local saint! (And it’s a First Saturday, so you get extra value.)

(BTW, January 4th is the feastday of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, our first native-born American saint. She also is very cool, of course.)

(Unfortunately, neither of them seem to have special food or candy associated with them. What’s up with that!? Shouldn’t we institute a St. John Neumann Philly cheesesteak??? Drink a Budweiser in honor of Budweis’ favorite alumnus? Or eat Philly cheese-covered Cheery Cherry CheeseSeton Pie? Get some Catholic culture going, people!)

Info on St. John Neumann from a hospice in his hometown, including a picture.