Send us your picture of Saint John of Nepomuk!
To mark the upcoming third centenary of John of Nepomuk’s beatification, Radio Prague International is asking listeners around the world to send their photographs of churches and monuments dedicated to the saint. We will showcase the best images via Facebook stories.
John of Nepomuk was the most popular saint of the Baroque era. Hundreds of churches and thousands of statues dedicated to the Bohemian martyr can be found throughout Europe and overseas – in South America, Africa, and Asia. There are around 66 thousand effigies of the saint worldwide. In Czechia especially, monuments to Nepomuk dot the landscape. He is, after all, the patron saint of the Czech lands. As legend has it, Nepomuk was thrown off Charles Bridge and drowned at the behest of the Bohemian king Wenceslas IV. for refusing to reveal the confessional secrets of the king’s wife. That is why Catholics consider Nepomuk to be the first martyr of The Seal of the Confessional and a protector against calumnies and floods. The various portrayals of the saint are easy to identify, as he always wears a surplice and has five stars around his head. Nepomuk’s other attributes are a Cycas leaf, which signifies victory, a crucifix, and a book. A finger held up to the saint’s mouth symbolizes the secret of the confessional.
