The National Shrine of St. John Neumann is a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

National shrine dedicated to St. John Neumann, the fourth Bishop of Philadelphia and the first American male to be

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...

. The shrine is located in the lower church of St. Peter the Apostle Church at 1019 North 5th Street, in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, in the United States. The construction of the main church began in 1843. Adjoining the lower church is a small museum, which displays exhibits relating to the life of the saint. The National Shrine of St. John Neumann and St. Peter's Church are under the care of the

Redemptorists The Redemptorists officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer ( la, links=no, Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris), abbreviated CSsR,is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brother ...

, the religious community of which St. John Neumann was a member.

History

When Bishop Neumann died suddenly in 1860 he was buried, as requested, at St. Peter's Church beneath the

undercroft An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground (street-level) area which is relatively open ...

floor directly below the high altar.Allman CSSR, Matthew. "The National Shrine of Saint John Neumann", ''Ligurian'', January 1, 2015
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Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

Neumann during the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

and declared him a saint in 1977. The undercroft at St. Peter the Apostle Church underwent several renovations after Neumann's initial interment. The space served for years as the lower church of St. Peter the Apostle parish and eventually became the ''National Shrine of Saint John Neumann'' after his canonization. The body of the saint lies in a glass-enclosed reliquary under the main

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

. It is dressed in the episcopal vestments with a mask covering the face.

The saint's body has undergone multiple vestment changes since it was first displayed at the time of his beatification. In 1989, during the course of a major renovation of the shrine, the body of the saint was clothed in a set of modern

vestments Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially by Eastern Churches, Catholics (of all rites), Anglicans, and Lutherans. Many other groups also make use of liturgical garments; this ...

cut in the Gothic style. On December 27, 2007, the body received a new mask and was clad with a set of traditional Roman vestments, including a laced alb, stole, maniple,

episcopal gloves The episcopal gloves or pontifical gloves (''chirothecœ'', called also at an earlier date ''manicœ, wanti'') are a Roman Catholic pontifical vestment worn a by bishop when celebrating Solemn Pontifical Mass. They are worn from the beginning of ...

, and traditional Roman fiddleback

chasuble The chasuble () is the outermost liturgical vestment worn by clergy for the celebration of the Eucharist in Western-tradition Christian churches that use full vestments, primarily in Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches. In the Eastern ...

. The Cardinal Archbishop of Philadelphia, Justin Francis Rigali, was present to assist with the vesting.

Fire

Fire broke out in the lower church on May 13, 2009. The pulpit, located near the body, was reduced to ashes, but the body of the saint was left intact. The

plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...

covering over the face did not show any signs of heat. The pastor, Fr. Kevin Moley, C.Ss.R., called it miraculous.

References

External links

National Shrine of Saint John Neumann
official website
National Shrine of St. John Neumann Facebook PageRedemptorists of the Baltimore Province: St. John NeumannSt. Peter the Apostle Church
website {{DEFAULTSORT:National Shrine Of Saint John Neumann Roman Catholic national shrines in the United States Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia Redemptorist churches in the United States Roman Catholic churches in Pennsylvania Roman Catholic churches in Philadelphia Museums in Philadelphia Religious museums in Pennsylvania Biographical museums in Pennsylvania Northern Liberties, Philadelphia

History

Fire

See also

References

External links