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St. John Maximovitch

of Shanghai and San Francisco. 1896–1966

Read the lifeSee the miracles
Icon of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco holding a Gospel book and blessing. Photo: MKoala, CC BY-SA 4.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Icon_of_Our_Holy_Father_John_of_Shanghai_and_San_Francisco.jpg
St. John Maximovitch knew what it meant to lose a home. As a young man, he fled Russia with his family. As an Orthodox bishop, he helped others start again. He cared for children in Shanghai, visited sick people, and asked American leaders to help stranded refugees. His work later took him to Europe and San Francisco. People remembered his long prayers, his care for those in need, and the way he kept in touch as children grew up. Icon photo: MKoala, CC BY-SA 4.0; full credit in biography.

At a glance

2Miracle accounts18chapters2teachings10sources
FeastJuly 2
DiedSeattle, Washington, United States

The life

Read from the beginning
  1. Chapter 1A boy with plans to serve
  2. Chapter 2Starting over far from home
  3. Chapter 3The teacher in the dormitory
  4. Chapter 4Sent to a city he had never served
  5. Chapter 5A home for children
  6. Chapter 6The boy who became a singer
  7. Chapter 7Easter beyond the church walls
  8. Chapter 8War returns to Shanghai
  9. Chapter 9Another country to leave
  10. Chapter 10Asking America to open a door
  11. Chapter 11New work in Western Europe
  12. Chapter 12Letters to children an ocean away
  13. Chapter 13What his secretary saw
  14. Chapter 14A divided parish in San Francisco
  15. Chapter 15The children stand beside him
  16. Chapter 16The man people remembered
  17. Chapter 17His last journey
  18. Chapter 18Remembered as a saint

Miracles

Read the accounts
  1. 1Sergei Bogatsky's recovery
  2. 2A healing reported at the relics

Teachings

Read the teachings
  1. 1Faith expressed in a life
  2. 2The Cross as the sign of salvation

In their own words

The designation of a Christian consists in glorifying the Heavenly Father by one's life.

Relics

LocationHoly Virgin Cathedral, Joy of All Who Sorrow, 6210 Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, California 94121, United States

St. John's relics are venerated in Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco. Archpriest Peter Perekrestov, an eyewitness to the opening of the coffin in 1993, reported that the body was incorrupt despite deterioration of the coffin and vestments. The cathedral identifies the relics as resting in a shrine in its nave. These descriptions preserve the Church's testimony and veneration; they are not presented as an independent scientific assessment.

Sources: Peter Perekrestov's eyewitness account; Holy Virgin Cathedral booklet, page 2.

All saints
Image of the saint St. Thérèse of Lisieux
St. Thérèse of Lisieux
1873–1897
As a small child she rolled on the floor in fury, and at about three she took a whole basket of doll clothes, saying, "I choose everything!" At twenty-four, dying of tuberculosis in a Normandy convent, she overheard a sister wonder what anyone could write about her, since she had never done anything worth speaking about. Thérèse of Lisieux wanted to be a great saint and found she was a grain of sand. In her last eighteen months even Heaven went dark for her, and she went on loving. How did the nun who had done nothing worth speaking about become one of the most loved saints of modern times, and a Doctor of the Church?