Today is the feast day of St. John Neumann, a wonderful model for what a bishop ought to be: humble, simple, zealous for souls, a teacher, a martyr for his flock. St. John Neumann was all that and more. I made a virtual visit to his national shrine in Philadelphia today, but I hope to go there for real this year. You see, one of my new year's intentions is to visit more shrines in the United States. What a wealth the country offers and some are only a few hours from my home in the Shenandoah Valley including St. John Neumann's. Two easy pilgrimage stops that could be made in tandem are the
Shrine of St. John Neumann and the nearby
Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown, a northern suburb (where I lived for several years as a teenager).
If you've never read
St. John Neumann's short autobiography, I recommend it.
