2023-05-16 07:01:00
May 16, 2023 / 12:01 a.m.
San Juan Nepomuceno is, without a doubt, an illustrious model of what the protection and fidelity of a priest means in the face of the sacrament of confession or sacramental seal.
He is considered the first martyr of the secret of confession, that is, he preferred death rather than betraying the promise made to Christ: to administer God’s mercy without any condition.
Juan Nepomuceno was born in Czechoslovakia between the years 1340 – 1350, in Nepomuk -hence the name Nepomuceno-. He received his doctorate from the University of Padua and was a parish priest in Prague. Later he was named Vicar General of the Archbishopric of that city thanks to the fact that the Czech Cardinal considered him a trustworthy man.
The Saint was the confessor of Sofia of Bavaria, the wife of the King of Prague, Wenceslas. Therefore, the king, who had fits of anger and jealousy, ordered the priest to reveal the sins of his wife.
Santo’s refusal infuriated Wenceslao and he threatened to sentence him to death if he did not tell him his secrets. San Juan flatly refused, earning the king’s resentment, although he did not carry out his threat at first.
A second source of tension had already alienated Wenceslao from Juan: the monarch tried to seize a convent that contained historical treasures and hand it over to one of his relatives. The Saint forbade it and faced it with courage.
Faced with Saint John’s refusal to reveal what he had heard in confession, the king, full of anger, ordered him to be tortured until he died and throw his body into the Vltava River. His corpse had to be picked up and buried later, to give him a Christian burial. It was the year 1393.
In view of his heroic attitude of preferring death rather than revealing a confessional secret, Saint John Nepomucene was considered the patron saint of confessors.
He is also considered as a protector against slander and floods.
More information in the next link.
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