In Question 137 of his Summa Theologiae, Saint Thomas Aquinas discusses perseverance. There, the Angelic Doctor quotes Saint Augustine, “We hold that perseverance is a gift of God, whereby we persevere unto the end, in Christ.”
A Paragon of Perseverance
Perseverance is difficult. No matter how eagerly sought at its inception, any noble goal eventually involves sacrifice. Yet, fallen human nature fights against sacrifice, primarily through laziness and selfishness.
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Saint John Nepomucene Neumann (1811-1860) was a paragon of perseverance; his example is valuable. Yet relatively few people know about him. His entry in The Encyclopedia of Catholic American History begins with “Saint, missionary, Redemptorist priest, fourth bishop of Philadelphia.”
Bishop Neumann filled his forty-nine years with an astonishing set of accomplishments. This article will focus on his tortuous path to the priesthood.
Birth and Education
John Neumann was born on March 28, 1811, in Prachatitz, Bohemia. Today, it lies in the Czech Republic. His father presented him for baptism the day he was born. His name honors Saint John Nepomucene. This martyr had been the Confessor of the Bohemian Queen Sofia, wife of King Wenceslaus IV. The king ordered the Saint’s execution because John Nepomucene refused to divulge the content of the Queen’s confessions. To this day, many admire John Nepomucene as an example of priestly duty.
John Neumann’s father was a voracious reader, a trait the boy inherited. His early interests were in the natural sciences, and many predicted a career in medicine.
At age twelve, John began six years at the gymnasium, the equivalent of secondary school, in Budweis—about thirty miles from Prachatitz. Afterward, he studied philosophy at a small local college. When it came time to choose a profession, he considered three choices—theology, jurisprudence or medicine.
Discerning a Vocation
John’s father preferred medicine. “My mother,” John later wrote, “was quite dissatisfied with the arrangement; the very thought saddened her.” She wanted her son to be a priest.
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John explained the intense competition in entering the seminary. Eighty or ninety would apply, and only twenty would be accepted. Furthermore, he had no influential friends to recommend him. Nonetheless, his mother insisted.
“In compliance with her wish, I drew up a petition for admission…. Without recommendations, simply at my own request, I was admitted to the seminary, and from that moment, the temptation to devote myself to the study of medicine disappeared.”
Seminary in Budweiz and Prague
He began two years of seminary study in Budweis, where he was attracted by the possibility of becoming a missionary to the Indians in North America.
At age twenty-two, he decided to complete his seminary training in Prague. He wanted to learn to speak French and English, which would be useful in America.
In Prague, John’s missionary intentions faced their first major hurdle. He suffered intense loneliness and self-doubt. Also, seminary taught neither French nor English. Moreover, the seminary authorities forbade taking classes at the local university since they feared the college’s corrupting influence.
Massive Disappointment and Resilience
A far greater disappointment awaited John Neumann at his seminary graduation. The government instructed Bishop Růžička of Budweis not to ordain anyone in 1835, as the diocese already had too many priests.
John still clung to his priestly vocation. He left for the United States without any guarantee that an American bishop would ordain him. He heard Bishop Francis Kenrick of Philadelphia needed German-speaking priests, so John decided to take his chances. Perhaps the Bishop of New York or Baltimore might receive him if that failed.
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However, travel was slow and expensive. John’s lack of canonical status denied him the usual source of funds. The Austrian Leopoldine Society sometimes subsidized missionary priests—but John was not yet a priest. Exactly how he paid his passage is unknown, but he scraped together some money. He stretched his money by stretching his legs—much of his journey was on foot.
Leaving Home for America
John did not have the heart to tell his family he was going. In the early hours of February 8, 1836, he left his parents’ home before anyone woke. He left a note. “By my sudden and unexpected departure, I have tried to lessen the mutual pain of separating from you…. Convinced that your parental blessing will accompany me wherever I go, I did not ask it of you before leaving for the reason above stated…. The career on which I am now about to embark, and which, with God’s help, I shall faithfully pursue, I am persuaded will bring spiritual blessing on you both.”
The long journey began in Budweiz to request dismissorial letters from Bishop Růžička.1 The Bishop—for unknown reasons—declined to provide them.
Then, John was off to Linz, Austria, where he stayed briefly at the seminary. The Bishop of Linz offered encouragement and expressed admiration for John’s diligence, giving him a letter of introduction.
Munich, Strasbourg and Paris
The next stop was Munich, where he stayed at the local seminary. There, he met Father John Henni, who would one day become the first Archbishop of Milwaukee. Father Henni shared the disheartening news that Bishop Kenrick no longer needed German-speaking priests. Discouraged but determined, the aspirant passed on to Strasbourg.
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In Strasbourg, more difficult news awaited. Canon Andreas Räss (later Bishop of Strasbourg) informed John that some of the money he had been promised had gone to other missionaries. However, the Canon promised to write to Bishop John DuBois of New York about the young aspirant.
John then proceeded to Paris via Nancy, conserving his depleted funds by not eating. At Nancy, some priests fed and encouraged him.
Holy Week found John Neumann in Paris. He made pilgrimages to Notre Dame, Saint Sulpice, Saint Genevieve and Montmartre, developing his prayer life and his acquaintance with the French language.
A Miserable Passage
On Easter Tuesday, John left Paris, going on foot through the rain to Nanterre, on an omnibus to Saint Germain, and on foot again to Meulan. There, he got a seat on top of a stagecoach to Rouen, and finally another to Havre, arriving there after noon on April 7.
In Havre, he purchased passage on the Europa. It was a three-master, the largest ship in Havre. However, the captain declined to leave until his ship was fully loaded. They did not disembark until April 20.
The six-week voyage was miserable. Neumann arrived in New York on June 2, the feast of Corpus Christi, with one dollar in his pocket. He set off in tattered shoes to find a Catholic Church. With no map or knowledge of the city, the first day’s search was unsuccessful, and he found lodging with a Swiss innkeeper. The following morning, the innkeeper gave John directions to Christ Church, whose pastor provided Bishop Dubois’s address.
Rapid Ordination and Deployment
The young aspirant was shocked when he arrived at old Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. Bishop Dubois had received Canon Räss’s letter from Strasbourg. The Bishop joyfully accepted the young Bohemian as a candidate for the priesthood.
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Working with Indians, however, was out of the question. The Bishop needed priests to pastor German immigrants, many of whom were losing their Faith because they lacked access to the sacraments. Given the dire need, Bishop Dubois was quite willing to overlook the lack of a letter from Bishop Růžička, telling the young man, “I can and must ordain you quickly, for I need you.”
After only two weeks of preparation, John Neumann was ordained a subdeacon. Five days later, he was ordained to the diaconate. The following day, June 25, 1836, the future Saint became a priest.
On June 26, Father Neumann celebrated his first Mass at a rough altar in Saint Nicholas Church. Less than a month after arriving on U.S. soil, he set out for his first assignment, north of Buffalo, New York.
(This article is the second of the author’s five articles about the life of Saint John Neumann. Read the first article here, and the third one here. The Editor)
Photo Credit: © Ross, CC BY-SA 2.0
Footnotes
- A dismissorial letter is a testimonial letter that allows a person to be ordained by a bishop other than the one who ordained them. They are used for people who are seeking ordination to the priesthood, or who are members of Religious Institutes or do not belong to the Diocese of the Bishop who is to ordain them.