Saint John Neumann ( Czech: Jan Nepomucký NeumannGerman: Johannes Nepomuk Neumann;born 28 March 1811 – 5 January 1860) was a Redemptorist missionary to the United States who became the fourth Bishop of Philadelphia (1852-60) and the first American bishop to be canonized. While Bishop of Philadelphia, Neumann founded the first Catholic diocesan school system in the United States.
John Nepomucene Neumann was born in Prachatice, Bohemia (modern-day ...
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Saint John Neumann ( Czech: Jan Nepomucký NeumannGerman: Johannes Nepomuk Neumann;born 28 March 1811 – 5 January 1860) was a Redemptorist missionary to the United States who became the fourth Bishop of Philadelphia (1852-60) and the first American bishop to be canonized. While Bishop of Philadelphia, Neumann founded the first Catholic diocesan school system in the United States.
John Nepomucene Neumann was born in Prachatice, Bohemia (modern-day Czech Republic), then within the Austrian Empire. He attended school in České Budějovice before entering seminary there in 1831. Two years later he transferred to the University of Prague, where he studied theology. He was interested in astronomy and botany. He intended to be ordained, but his bishop, in 1835, decided there would be no more ordinations, as Bohemia had a high number of priests already.
Neumann, who spoke 8 different languages, then wrote to other bishops in Europe, but they all replied that they also had too many priests...
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