St. John Neumann's feast day is January 5th but you can pray the St. John Neumann Novena for any reason that you want, so go ahead and start praying! St. John Neumann was born in Bohemia, in what is now the Czech Republic, in the early 1800s. When he was 20, he discerned that God was calling him to be a priest. St. John Neumann had a gift for learning languages. During his time in seminary, he learned 6 languages and became familiar with 2 others. He felt God was calling him to go to the United States because he knew that his ability to speak so many languages would be valued in this new country of European immigrants and they could use a priest who could speak their language. He died suddenly from a heart attack on January 5th, 1860 at the age of 49 on a Philadelphia street. His feast day is celebrated on January 5th. Well-known for his holiness and learning, spiritual writing and preaching, on October 13, 1963, John Neumann became the first American bishop to be beatified. Canonized in 1977, he is buried in St. Peter the Apostle Church in Philadelphia.