National Shrine of St. John Nepomucene Neumann - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

(Photo/www.stjohnneumann.org)

The Catholic World Meeting of Families will be held in Philadephia, Pennsylvania, Sept. 22-27, 2015. Learn more about the meeting at  www.worldmeeting2015.org/. In future issues, we’ll highlight shrines in the Philadephia area.
Destination: The national shrine at St. Peter the Apostle Parish (in photo) is the final resting place of St. John Nepomucene Neumann. Born in Bohemia, he came to America in 1836. He was ordained a priest in New York the same year, served as the fourth bishop of Philadelphia and was declared a saint in 1977 by Pope Paul VI.
Masses are offered in the lower church Monday-Saturday at 7:30 a.m., 12:15 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.; Sunday at 7:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m. (in Spanish), and 3:30 p.m.; and in the upper church at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Why to go: The parish is where St. John Neumann asked to be buried. He was the first priest to profess vows as a Redemptorist in the U.S. and he wanted to be buried near the priests of his order. His body can be viewed in the lower level church, near the Shrine Museum. 
As a young man, he knew he wanted to become a missionary to America, so he learned English. Having studied Italian in seminary in Boehemia, he used that knowledge to minister to Italian immigrants. He founded the first national parish for Italians in the U.S. He also learned enough Irish to hear confessions in that language.
St. John also unified Philadelphia schools in a diocesan system and founded the Third Order of St. Francis of Glen Riddle.
Though St. John never lived at the church where he is buried, he visited there often. Built to serve a German immigrant population, it was consecrated in 1847, five years after property was bought for the parish.
Amenities: A gift shop is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Admission: Shrine hours are Monday-Saturday, 7 a.m.- 6 p.m.; and Sunday, 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Museum hours are Monday-Friday, 8a.m.-5:30 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; and Sunday, 8 a.m.- 3:30 p.m.
(Grand) Kid friendly: Depending on the time of year you visit, school may be in session. Visiting youngsters should be a little quiet as they visit the church and museum.
Info: Address: The National Shrine of St. John Neumann, 1019 N. Fifth St., Philadelphia, PA 19123. Phone: 215/627-3080 . Web: http://www.stjohnneumann.org/shrine.html

- Compiled by Sharon Boehlefeld
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