The Saint John Neumann Garden Crypt
The garden crypt dedicated to St. John Neumann is the third of several such units planned for the beautifully landscaped Catholic Cemetery of Fort Wayne.
This unit provides 288 exterior crypt spaces.
Sculpture work on this building is Indiana limestone from the Bedford, Indiana, quarries. The crypt fronts are carnelian granite and the roofs are Saint Cloud Gray granite. The trim is Indiana limestone.
The sculpture was designed by artist Allison Adams with the stone carving done by Tim Doyle.
Saint John Neumann
1811-1860
John N. Neumann arrived in America when Buffalo, New York, was the frontier. On landing, he had one dollar in his pocket and the clothing on his back.
Although he had completed seminary training in Europe, he had not been ordained.
Bishop John Dubois administered this sacrament promptly when he found out that Neumann spoke German (plus five other languages) and could minister to the large German population in New York.
Father Neumann said his first Mass in St. Nicholas Church in New York and moved upstate near Buffalo to do missionary work.
Life on the frontier was physically demanding and dangerous. Once Neumann was captured by masked men, enemies of religion, who took him into the woods to kill him. A courageous parishioner rescued him.
On another occasion, he was forced to stop under a tree to rest his blistered feet. He suddenly realized that he was surrounded by silent Indians. Out of respect for his black robe, they carefully placed him in a buffalo skin and carried him to a place of safety.
Four years of work in the wilds nearly broke his health, so in October of 1840 he entered the Congregation of the Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists) and eventually became their Superior General in America.
In 1848 he was naturalized as an American citizen.
Father Neumann received one of the heaviest crosses of his career in 1852 when he was told that he was to become the fourth bishop of Philadelphia. He begged to be excused from the assignment and accepted only when he was ordered to do so as an act of obedience to Pope Pius IX. During his eight year episcopacy, more than 80 churches were built in the diocese.
He is regarded as the founder of the parochial school system in this country. In the spring of 1853, he introduced Forty Hours Devotion on a permanent basis for the first time in the United States.
John Nepomucene Neumann who died at age 49, was canonized on June 19, 1977, by Pope Paul VI.