Saint of the day for January 5: the story of Saint John Neumann

Saint of the day for January 5nd
(28 March 1811 - 5 January 1860)

The story of St. John Neumann

Perhaps because the United States has had a later start in world history, it has relatively few canonized saints, but their number is increasing.

John Neumann was born in what is now the Czech Republic. After studying in Prague, he came to New York at the age of 25 and was ordained a priest. He did missionary work in New York until the age of 29, when he joined the Redemptorists and became the first member to profess vows in the United States. He continued missionary work in Maryland, Virginia, and Ohio, where he became popular with Germans.

At the age of 41, as bishop of Philadelphia, he organized the parish school system in the diocesan one, increasing the number of pupils by almost twenty times in a short time.

Gifted with extraordinary organizational skills, he attracted many communities of teachers of Christian sisters and brothers to the city. During his brief tenure as vice provincial for the Redemptorists, he put them at the forefront of the parish movement.

Well known for his holiness and culture, spiritual writing and preaching, on October 13, 1963, John Neumann became the first American bishop to be beatified. Canonized in 1977, he is buried in the church of San Pietro Apostolo in Philadelphia.

Reflection

Neumann took our Lord's words seriously: "Go and teach all nations". From Christ he received his instructions and the power to carry them out. Because Christ does not give a mission without providing the means to carry it out. The gift of the Father in Christ to John Neumann was his exceptional organizational skills, which he used to spread the Good News. Today the Church is in desperate need of men and women to continue teaching the Good News in our times. The obstacles and inconveniences are real and costly. However, as Christians draw close to Christ, he provides the talents needed to meet today's needs. The Spirit of Christ continues his work through the instrumentality of generous Christians.