Relics of St. John Neumann visit Washington as one of last tour stops

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A 15-month "year" celebrating the 200th birthday of St. John Neumann and the anniversary of his ordination as bishop of Philadelphia made a stop in Washington March 28, which would have been the saint's 201st birthday and the 160th anniversary of his episcopal ordination.

Relics of St. John Neumann came in a reliquary made specifically for the anniversary to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, where an afternoon of veneration of the relics was bookended by two Masses.

Called "the little bishop" because of his height -- he was 5-foot-2 or 5-foot-3, according to Redemptorist Father Matthew Allman, who traveled with the relics from Philadelphia -- the saint was "tiny, but his heart was big," Msgr. Walter Rossi, rector of the shrine, said during the first of the two afternoon Masses. "He did such great work for God's people."