THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE RESOLUTION

INTRODUCED BY DONATUCCI, BOYLE, CALTAGIRONE, W. KELLER, McGEEHAN, M. O'BRIEN, D. O'BRIEN, PETRARCA, ROEBUCK, J. TAYLOR, WATERS, WILLIAMS AND YOUNGBLOOD, JANUARY 19, 2010

INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35, JANUARY 19, 2010  

A RESOLUTION

Commemorating the 150th anniversary of the death of Saint John

Neumann and honoring his many accomplishments.

WHEREAS, Saint John Neumann became a naturalized citizen of

the United States in Baltimore, Maryland, on February 10, 1848,

renouncing allegiance to the Emperor of Austria in whose realm

he was born on March 28, 1811; and

WHEREAS, He was ordained a priest in June 1836 by Bishop John

Dubois at old St. Patrick's Cathedral on Mott Street, New York

City, and was named pastor of the whole Niagara Frontier, which

consisted of 100 square miles of swampy primeval forest; and

WHEREAS, One of the 36 priests in the State of New York to

preside over 200,000 Catholics, his distinguished apostolic

pastorate led Pastor John Neumann to be consecrated on his 41st

birthday as bishop of Philadelphia by Archbishop Francis Kenrick

at St. Alphonsus Church in Baltimore in 1852; and

WHEREAS, In Philadelphia, Bishop Neumann continued his

ecclesiastical accomplishments by administering to the largest

diocese in the country, building new churches at a rate of one

almost every month, founding the religious community of the

Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis of Philadelphia and

saving the Oblate Sisters of Providence from dissolution; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Neumann was the first American bishop to be

canonized a saint, being elevated to that position by Pope Paul

VI in 1977; and

WHEREAS, Saint John Neumann, who died January 5, 1860, at the

age of 48, is recognized as the founder of the Catholic school

system in the United States and as is responsible for

establishing 35 Catholic schools in the Philadelphia area;

therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives commemorate the

150th anniversary of the death of Saint John Neumann and honor

his selfless dedication and service to the people of this

Commonwealth and the church to which he dedicated his life.