PROLOGUE

Of all the ways in which the Catholic Church confronts the modern world, none is more outrageous than its proclamation that one of its members is in eternity and a saint. Involved in that assertion is the weight of papal infallibility, in itself a startling mystery. Behind it, likewise, there is a very worldly trail of agitation and intrigue, medical and literary research, piety and politics, miracles and monetary concerns. All these elements are present in the process whereby Pope Paul VI solemnly declared that John Nepomucene Neumann, fourth bishop of Philadelphia, is a saint.

Just how the Church chooses from the thousands of candidates for the honor of its altars is an enigma. In the primitive Church the procedure was simplified by the fact that most of its saints were martyrs (the more prominent among its members who were put to death because of their faith).

Early on, the Church had decided that no one alive could aspire to the title of saint, since down to the last breath even the most pious were capable of rejecting God. Then gradually it worked out a procedure for testing claims to sanctity made by partisans of its deceased members.

Four principal steps now bestride the path to Canonization, as the solemn declaration of sanctity is called. Ordinarily, the process begins with the recognition on the diocesan level that there are good reasons for considering that someone lived and died a holy life. Eventually, a thorough investigation is begun by the local bishop. It covers every phase of the person's life, his writings and activities, reputation among friends, neighbors, enemies, and if possible, the testimony of the saint-to-be's confessor and spiritual director. It culminates with the unearthing of the body for positive identification (and, at least before the age of embalming, to discover if the candidate had possibly been buried alive, and might have given in to despair.)

Rome then steps in and appoints a postulator for the cause - a practical theologian who will initiate and guide the investigations, present evidence of holiness to the various Vatican commissions, monitor the claims to miracles worked by the potential saint, and gather funds to cover the cost of these procedures. He is usually aided by a vice-postulator in the place where the candidate lived the main portion of his or her life.

Under Vatican guidance a totally new process of investigation is inaugurated and the proceedings of the diocesan cause are sequestered. If the candidate's case hurdles the various obstacles placed in its path by the so-called "devil's advocate" - the official appointed to challenge every phase of the investigation - the Holy Father then steps in and declares that the candidate for sainthood has practiced virtue on a heroic scale.

What heroic virtue means was explained by Pope Benedict XV in 1921 in relation to Bishop John Neumann. The man simply lived in close relation with God by doing all the things necessary to accomplish his life's work in accord with his concept of God's will, despite all the difficulties he had to put up with. The Pope insisted that heroicity of virtue covered the ordinary details of daily life that are carried out with a total dedication to the Christian way of life - nothing more, but nothing less.

In the end, the worth and intensity of the person's practice of virtue depends on personality, intelligence and charism or spiritual gifts of grace - all of which differ greatly with the individual. As the Pope points out, every human being receives enough grace to achieve sanctity despite the apparent fewness of those who strive to live holy lives. It is the Church's business to decide who has done so.

The two principal stages in the process leading to the declaration of sanctity are Beatification and Canonization. Two miracles, undoubtedly granted by God through the intercession of the saint-to-be, are required for each of these procedures. They are subjected to the most severe scrutiny by medical experts and theologians. Finally a commission of cardinals on the Holy See's Congregation for the Cause of Saints reconsiders all the evidence with minute thoroughness.

Beatification occurs when the Pope accepts the favorable judgment of his commission. It is a most important step, for it acknowledges the undoubted holiness of the person so selected, and allows a Mass and liturgical cult to be celebrated in his or her honor within a diocese or a religious order.

Canonization takes place when the Holy Father as the Supreme Pastor is convinced that the Holy Spirit has authorized him to employ the charism of infallibility and tell the world that this particular person is now unquestionably in heaven. Both Beatification and Canonization are usually accompanied by a splendid celebration in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

It is understandable that these various procedures involve a massive amount of time, the employment of experts in every phase of human interest from theologians and psychologists to medical examiners concerned with the authenticity of miracles, translators of documentary evidence, and typists.

In times past, the whole procedure had to be translated into Italian and written out by hand. Today, the most modern means of communication are utilized. But then, as now, these procedures proved expensive. One result of this complication was the paucity of lay people, fathers and mothers in particular, who have been elevated to the Church's altars. They did not have dioceses or religious congregations of priests, brothers or nuns promoting their cause.

One of the concerns of Vatican Council II was to correct this deficiency and stress the holiness achieved by millions of its ordinary faithful. In a sense, the Canonization of Bishop Neumann is a step in this direction for he spent the whole of his priestly and episcopal ministry encouraging ordinary people to live as saints.

In the century between Neumann's death in 1860 and his Beatification in 1963, his cause experienced great moments of advance as well as discouraging set-backs and extended periods of neglect. Various motives affected officials and partisans interested in promoting or opposing the claims that the Bishop of Philadelphia had been a saint. And there were both earlier Redemptorist colleagues and Vatican observers who felt that the "Little Man" had done nothing so extraordinary as to deserve the honor of Canonization.

There was rivalry on the part of promoters of the claim of other bishops and United States citizens for such honors, and even a contest as to whether Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton or Bishop Neumann would achieve Beatification and Canonization first. The lady won. Finally, there were minor difficulties between diocesan officials in Philadelphia and the Redemptorist postulators of the cause regarding the ultimate stages of the process.

All these troubles were considered by Rome as normal to such an important proceeding. They were mere incidents in what might be termed a holy intrigue to uncover a momentous detail of divine providence. They were also expensive, involving considerable sums of money contributed for the most part by great numbers of devout people who feel that the presence of the tomb of Saint John Neumann in the Church of St. Peter's on Girard Street in Philadelphia is one of God's great blessings bestowed on the United States of America.

In the composition of this modest story, use was made of the two principal biographies - one by Neumann's nephew, John Berger, that appeared in both German and English in the early 1880s, and Michael Curley's documented Venerable Bishop Neumann of 1954. Both authors were Redemptorist priests and possessed a special insight into the saint's inner spirit as well as details of his life. Neumann's writings, including his brief autobiography, the journal of his soul, and his literary effects were preserved in the Redemptorist Fathers' archives, and have been used here; as have materials culled from other sources including contemporary histories.