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...