John of Nepomuk
John of Nepomuk | |
|---|---|
| Martyr | |
| Born | c.1345 Nepomuk |
| Died | 20 March 1393 (aged 47–48) Prague |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church
Czechoslovak Hussite Church Eastern Orthodox Church Anglican Communion |
| Beatified | 31 May 1721, Rome by Pope Innocent XIII |
| Canonized | 19 March 1729, Rome by Pope Benedict XIII |
| Feast | 16 May |
| Attributes | halo with five stars, cross, bridge, angel indicating silence by a finger over the lips, priest's biretta |
| Patronage | confessors, mariners, raftsmen, millers, sievers, bridges, against hazards by water, for discretion; Bohemia, San Juan, Batangas, Malibay, Pasay; Alfonso, Cavite; Moalboal, Cebu; San Remigio, Cebu; Cabiao, Spanish Navy Marines, Prague, Slavonski Brod, Omiš |
John of Nepomuk (or John Nepomucene) (Czech: Jan Nepomucký; German: Johannes Nepomuk; Latin: Ioannes Nepomucenus) (c. 1345 – 20 March 1393) was a saint of Bohemia (a western part of what is now the Czech Republic) who was drowned in the Vltava river at the behest of King Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia. Later accounts state that he was the confessor of the queen of Bohemia and refused to divulge the secrets of the confessional. On the basis of this account, John of Nepomuk is considered the first martyr of the Seal of the Confessional, a patron against calumnies and, because of the manner of his death, a protector from floods and drowning.