Parishioner Visits St. John Neumann’s Birthplace

Photos courtesy of Stanislava Vitoňová.

During his preparations for the Annual William K. Collinge lecture at St. Francis Xavier last summer, parishioner Dr. Charles Strauss learned a great deal about St. John Neumann, a 19th-century Bishop of Philadelphia who laid the cornerstone for St. Francis Xavier’s Historic Church in 1852 and returned to dedicate the church on July 31, 1853, the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola. The Strauss family had already prepared to spend the fall in Prague, as Charles and his wife, Elizabeth’s academic and professional ventures would take them to St. John Neumann’s homeland.

In early November, Strauss was able to visit Neumann’s birthplace, thanks to the hospitality of a professor and dean of theology at the University of Southern Bohemia, Rudolf Svoboda. Strauss and Professor Svoboda visited Neumann’s birthplace in Prachatice, now a convent and hospice of the Sisters of Mercy of St. Charles of Borromeo; the church nearby where the saint preached his first homily, his school, and seminary in České Budějovice, and the baptismal font where he was baptized.

“It was such a joy to explain that this man from their town had transformed the place where I am from so significantly. I learned a lot from the parish priest and Borromeo sisters, as well as from Rudolf who is writing on John Neumann, specifically his life in Bohemia,” Strauss said.

The church in Prachatice published an article about this connection and trip with Professor Svoboda and Charles, and Professor Svoboda is planning a trip to the United States in February to research St. John Neumann in Philadelphia. At that time, he will also be making a stop in Emmitsburg and Gettysburg, and Strauss will be returning the favor of hospitality in his hometown.

Photos courtesy of Stanislava Vitoňová.