Saint John of Nepomuk

Saint John of Nepomuk, born before 1345 and martyred on March 20, 1393, was a Czech priest and vicar general of the Archdiocese of Prague. A preacher at the court of King Wenceslaus IV, he was murdered by drowning on the king's orders. Canonized in 1729 by Pope Benedict XIII, he is the patron saint of Bohemia and confessors. John of Nepomuk, a scholar of theology and jurisprudence, held important ecclesiastical positions. As an opponent of the king's decisions, he was killed for confirming an election contrary to the monarch's wishes. Controversy over his identity persists, with some hypotheses suggesting two figures or a legend.