John of Nepomuk, Saint

John of Nepomuk, Saint (nā'pōmook) [key], d. 1393, patron saint of Bohemia, a martyr. He is also called John Nepomucen. He was vicar general of Bohemia under King Wenceslaus IV (later Holy Roman Emperor Wenceslaus). When the king wished uncanonically to convert an abbey into a cathedral, St. John opposed him, in spite of torture. The king had him drowned in the Moldau. An earlier story, since disproved, attributes his drowning to his refusal to disclose the confessional secrets of the queen. Feast: May 16.