Saint John of God
Religious
- Feast Day
- March 8
- Life
- 1495–1550
- Canonized
- 1690
- Order
- Order of Hospitallers of Saint John of God (Brothers Hospitallers)
- Born
- Montemor-o-Novo, Portugal
Joao Cidade was born on March 8, 1495, in Montemor-o-Novo, Portugal. After serving as a soldier in the armies of Charles V in campaigns against the French and the Turks, he worked as a shepherd, then as a bookseller in Granada, Spain.
In 1539, after hearing a sermon by Saint John of Avila on the feast of Saint Sebastian, he was so moved to repentance that he was committed for a time to the Royal Hospital of Granada, where the harsh treatment of the mentally ill convinced him to dedicate his life to the care of the sick and poor.
Upon his release, he rented a house in Granada and began gathering the sick from the streets, establishing what became one of the first organized hospitals dedicated to systematic care of patients. He insisted on individual beds, separation by illness, and humane treatment. His followers, after his death, were organized into the Order of Hospitallers approved by Pope Saint Pius V in 1572.
John died at Granada on March 8, 1550, of an illness contracted while saving a man from drowning in the Genil River. He was beatified by Pope Urban VIII in 1630 and canonized by Pope Alexander VIII on October 16, 1690. Pope Leo XIII declared him patron of the sick and of hospitals in 1886.
Saint John of God is a principal figure in the Catholic tradition of organized care for the sick. By insisting that each patient receive individual attention, regardless of social class or condition, he gave practical form to Christ's identification with the suffering in Matthew 25. His order, the Brothers Hospitallers, continues to operate hospitals on every continent. His patronage of the sick, declared by Pope Leo XIII, places him alongside Saint Camillus de Lellis at the foundation of Catholic healthcare.
Patronages
the sick · hospitals · nurses · firefighters · booksellers
Catholic Churches Named After Saint John of God
20 parishes on Catholic Church Times share Saint John of God's name. Find their Mass times, confession schedules, and adoration hours:
- St. John the Evangelist — Logan, KS
- Saint John the Baptist — South Bend, IN
- St. John the Baptist Parish — Chinsali
- St. John the Baptist Parish — Bulawayo
- St. John Vianney Mission — Esigodini
- St. John Baptist - Birunduma
- Church of St. John the Baptist, Sungai Siput — Sungai Siput, PERAK
- St John's
- St. John the Baptist Catholic Church — Prentice, WI
- St. John's
- Sts. John and Paul Church (St. Mary Magdalene Parish) — New Maryland, NB
- John the Baptist - Bonnyrigg/Edensor Park — Bonnyrigg Heights, NSW
- Saint John’s Parish — Barraba, NSW
- St John the Baptist, Lismore — Lismore, VIC
- St John's, Skipton — Skipton, VIC
- St John the Apostle. Goolwa — Goolwa, SA
- St John Mary Vianney Church — Gnowangerup, WA
- St John's Church — Rangeway, WA
- St Johns Catholic Church — Iola, KS
- St John the Baptist Catholic Church — Tapanui
Sources