The Redemptorist Saint Behind U.S. Catholic School Week
St. John Neumann established the Catholic school system in the 1850s

DENVER, CO, January 29, 2007...From January 29 to February 4, 2007, Catholics around the country will observe Catholic School Week. But what tends to go unobserved during these seven days is the name of the Redemptorist saint who established the system of Catholic schools in this country in the 1850s.

St. John Neumann, C.Ss.R., the fourth bishop of Philadelphia, embarked on a project in 1852 he considered to be his most important: the establishment of a system of Catholic schools. Bishop Neumann was very concerned that religion as a subject for study had been virtually eliminated from the public schools. As an active pastor and confessor, Bishop Neumann was aware of the dangers posed by this void in the curriculum.

He feared that the whole system of public instruction represented a threat to the faith of Catholic children. One of Bishop Neumann's first steps was to set up a central board of education in his diocese. Besides the bishop, the board consisted of the pastor and two laymen from each parish. They would have general supervision over this new system of schools throughout the diocese. The board would recommend a general plan of instruction and have some say over the distribution of funds. But it was the pastor who hired the teachers and paid their salaries.

Some of the teachers employed came from the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, which Neumann founded. They taught from Neumann's text for the classes, what would become the Baltimore catechism.

Because of Bishop Neumann's efforts, the number of Catholic schools jumped sharply in Philadelphia. When he arrived as bishop, there were about 500 children in Catholic schools throughout the diocese. Eighteen months later there were 5,000.

This parochial school system model eventually became the standard used throughout the United States, and it stands as one of Bishop Neumann's most important achievements.

(St. John Neumann's feast day is January 5th. His national shrine is located in Philadelphia. Its website is www.stjohnneumann.org.)

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The Redemptorists are a religious congregation of Catholic priests and brothers founded in southern Italy in 1732 by St. Alphonsus Liguori, C.Ss.R., a doctor of the Church and one of her greatest saints. Redemptorists around the world celebrate this year the 275th anniversary of their founding.