Feast of St. John Nepomucene (May 16)

Above:  Statue of St. John Nepomucene, Prague, Between 1860 and 1890

Image Source = Library of Congress

Reproduction Number = LC-USZ62-109000

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SAINT JOHN NEPOMUCENE (CIRCA 1340-MARCH 20, 1393)

Bohemian Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr

Also known as Saint John of Nepomuk and Saint John of Pomuk

Alternative feast day = March 20

St. John Nepomucene, who exercised the responsibilities of his ministry during the Great Schism of the Papacy, had to contend with the brutal and frequently intoxicated Wenceslaus IV (King of Bohemia, 1363-1419; Holy Roman Emperor, 1378-1400).  Our saint, son of Wolflin, a burger of Nepomuk/Pomuk, a town in the district of Pilsen, Bohemia (now the Czech Republic), pursued a religious vocation.  St. John studied theology and canon law at the University of Prague.  He took holy orders and became a notary public in the Archdiocese of Prague in 1373.  The following year our saint became the first secretary to John of Jenzenstein, the Archbishop of Prague.  From 1379 to 1390 St. John served at the parish of St. Gallus, Prague.  During that time our saint earned his doctorate in canon law from the University of Prague (1387) and became a cathedral canon.  In 1390 he became the Archdeacon of Sasz.  Later, after serving as the president of the ecclesiastical court, St. John became the Vicar-General of the Archdiocese of Prague.

Our saint’s tenure as the Vicar-General was brief, for he ran afoul of Wenceslaus IV.  Our saint, confessor to Queen Sophia of Bavaria, wife of the monarch, maintained the confidentiality of the confessional despite Wenceslaus IV’s wishes to the contrary.  Furthermore, Wenceslaus IV, wishing to create a new diocese and to appoint the bishop thereof, forbade the election of a new abbot of Kladrau after the abbot died.  In 1393 Abbot Rarek died.  St. John confirmed the election of Odelenus, the new abbot, without consulting the monarch.  This action angered Wenceslaus IV, who had plans to transform the abbey church into the cathedral of the planned new diocese.  He had certain ecclesiastical authorities, including St. John, arrested and tortured.  Our saint, in chains and with a block of wood in his mouth, died of drowning in the Moldau River on March 20, 1393.  He was about 53 years old.

In 1400 Wenceslaus IV lost his title of Holy Roman Empire on the grounds of drunkenness and incompetence.

The Church recognized St. John formally.  Pope Innocent XIII beatified our saint in 1721.  Pope Benedict XIII canonized him eight years later.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

OCTOBER 24, 2017 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF HENRY CLAY SHUTTLEWORTH, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF DANIEL C. ROBERTS, EPISCOPAL PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

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Gracious God, in every age you have sent men and women

who have given their lives in witness to your love and truth.

Inspire us with the memory of Saint John Nepomucene,

whose faithfulness led to the way of the cross, and give us courage

to bear full witness with our lives to your Son’s victory over sin and death,

for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Ezekiel 20:40-42

Psalm 5

Revelation 6:9-11

Mark 8:34-38

–Adapted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 59

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