St. John of God

St. John of God (born March 8, 1495, Montemor-o-Novo, Portugal—died March 8, 1550, Granada, Spain; canonized 1690; feast day March 8) was the founder of the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God (Brothers Hospitallers), a Roman Catholic religious order of brothers dedicated to nursing the poor and the sick. In 1886 Pope Leo XIII declared him patron saint of hospitals and the sick.

Formerly a shepherd and soldier, João Cidade was so moved by the sermons of the mystic John of Ávila, who became his spiritual adviser, that he decided to devote his life to the care of those in need. For that purpose he rented a house in Granada (1537), where his work won ecclesiastical approval and attracted others. Bishop Sebastián Ramírez of Túy, Spain, named him John of God and gave John and his followers their habit (religious garb), allegedly because John kept exchanging his cloak with the poor whom he served. When John died, his companion, Antonio Martino, succeeded him, and the rule for his order was posthumously drafted. Subsequent houses, richly endowed by King Philip II of Spain, were soon opened. The order was first approved in 1586 by Pope Sixtus V. Headquartered in Rome, it maintains hospitals throughout the world.