- Giovanni Nepomuceno Neumann - Jan Nepomucký Neumann Son of
Philip, who was German and owned a stocking factory, and Agnes
Neumann who was Czech. John was a small and quiet boy with four
sisters and a brother, and was named after Saint John
Nepomucene. An excellent student, John early felt drawn to
religious life. Seminarian at Budweis, Bohemia in 1813, he
studied astronomy and botany in addition to theological topics.
Studied theology at Charles Ferdinand University at Prague in
1833. When time came for John’s ordination, his bishop was sick;
the ordination was never re-scheduled as Bohemia had an over-
abundance of priests. John decided to go to America to ask for
ordination, and to work with emigres. He walked most of the way
to France, then took ship for America. John arrived unannounced
in Manhattan in 1836. Bishop John Dubois was happy to see him as
there were 36 priests for the 200,000 Catholics in New York and
New Jersey. John was ordained on 28 June 1836, and sent to
Buffalo. There the parish priest,