National Shrine of St. John Neumann

When John Neumann, the fourth bishop of Philadelphia and the first man to become a Redemptorist in America, died on January 5th, 1860, his body was brought for burial to the local parish of his Redemptorist brothers. He was interred with solemnity in the crypt of St. Peter the Apostle Church. Due to his reputation for sanctity, Neumann's tomb quickly became a popular site for pilgrimage and prayer and the crypt became chapel and a shrine. One hundred and seventeen years after his death the Roman Catholic Church officially declared John Neumann a saint, making him the first, and so far the only American male to receive that honor.