SUGAR RIDGE – More than 170 years after Saint John Neumann walked through the hills of northeastern Pennsylvania to minister to small communities of Catholic settlers, the faithful continue making the journey to a church that preserves his remarkable legacy.
On July 12, 2026, faithful gathered at the Saint John Neumann Shrine in Sugar Ridge for the first of three summer Masses celebrated annually at the historic chapel, officially known as the Church of Saints Philip and James.
Designated as the Diocese of Scranton’s official Saint John Neumann Shrine in September 1977, the simple country church occupies the very site where the fourth Bishop of Philadelphia blessed the original church in July 1854.
“Saint John (Neumann) was known for many things. One was traveling,” Father Bert Kozen, Pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Dushore, said. “Whether by train, by coach, by horseback or by foot. As a matter of fact, he preferred foot because being five-foot-two, he found it difficult to ride a horse because his feet wouldn’t have reached the stirrups.”
According to local history, Bishop Neumann was visiting Catholics in Towanda when Katherine Leahy learned of his presence and walked several miles to ask him to visit the Irish Catholic families living near present-day Sugar Ridge.
True to his reputation as a tireless missionary, Bishop Neumann gladly made the journey on foot, celebrated the sacraments, blessed the land for a new church, and even assisted the local men as they began clearing timber for the original chapel.
“Another gift that Saint John Neumann had was the ability for languages. He spoke German, his native language, English, and he actually picked up Gaelic,” Father Kozen explained. “His Gaelic was so attuned, people thought he was one of them and he wasn’t.”
For parishioner John Lambert, praying in the area where a future saint once walked carries profound meaning.
“To walk the ground where someone who was raised to be a saint is pretty neat,” Lambert said. “To have it in your own backyard is something special.”
Lambert knows well the intricacies of the Shrine property. He says the church has no heat – which is why they choose to have select Masses in the summer. Even more interesting, while the church has electricity, there is only one outlet in the building.
Although he was a bishop for only eight years, the future-saint left his mark throughout the wide expanse which would later comprise the Diocese of Scranton. Bishop Neumann blessed corner stones; he confirmed; he heard confessions; he baptized children; and he placed his signature on many parish ledgers.
The faithful say he left a spiritual legacy that is significant even today.
“He lived in times similar to today, troubled times,” Lambert explained. “The people he ministered to here were not well liked. It was the time of the ‘know-nothings’ and church burnings in Philadelphia. We were looked down on. We were the ‘dirty Irish.’ But he came. And he wasn’t Irish.”
Patrick Cullen’s connection is even more personal.
His great-great-great grandmother, Katherine Leahy, was the women who invited Bishop Neumann to Sugar Ridge.
“He was good enough to come out this way, give the sacraments, bless the land and clear a spot for the first church,” Cullen said. “I think it’s a great example of living your faith.”
The remaining summer Masses at the Saint John Neumann Shrine will be celebrated on Sunday, Aug. 2, and Sunday, Sept. 6, at 2:30 p.m. The September liturgy will include a Healing Mass followed by a parish picnic hosted by the Knights of Columbus.