Born in Bohemia in 1811, John Neumann became a bishop in the American Catholic Church and became America’s first saint in 1977. He founded a religious order of nuns and created the nation’s first Archdiocesan school system. Unlike the Baroque style of St. Peter’s Church where the shrine is located, this memorial is decidedly modern. Stylized stained glass windows depict events in his life. St. John Neumann’s body is entombed in glass under the shrine’s altar. Some masses are followed by a blessing with relics.