

John came from Pomuk, Bohemia, in today’s Czech Republic. He studied in Prague and Padua, Italy, before he was ordained a priest and appointed parish priest in Prague. He was intelligent and wise, but above all a great believer in the love of God, and he was a humble man. Soon he started to rise in importance within the local Church, until he became vicar-general. People came from far away to listen to his passionate homilies in the cathedral. King Wenceslaus IV had become cruel and capricious in his reign, and was in constant battle with the Church. One day, the king ordered John to be tortured in a terrible way on the Charles bridge in Prague. He was then thrown into the river, dead or barely alive. This is why you can find John’s statue on some bridges today. The exact reason for this atrocity is not known. Was it because John had signed the appointment of an abbot against the wishes of the king? Or did the king want to deprive the bishop of one of his most important assistants? #SaintJohnNepomuk #JohnNepomuk #catholicsaints #onlinewithsaints