John of God 16th Century Former Portuguese Soldier
John of God was born on March 8, 1495, and he died on March 8, 1550. He was a Portuguese soldier who became a healthcare worker in Spain. The followers of John of God formed the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God. It is a Catholic religious institute dedicated to the care of the poor, sick, and those with mental disorders. He was canonized by Pope Alexander VIII and was one of the leading religious figures in the history of the Iberian Peninsula. Have you heard of him?
John of God Biography
John of God was born Joรฃo Duarte Cidade in Portugal. He was the son of Andrรฉ Cidade and Teresa Duarte, a once-prominent family that was impoverished but had great religious faith. One day, when John was eight years of age, he disappeared. When he was eight years old, John of God disappeared. His mother died of grief, and his father joined the Franciscan order.
John of God found himself a homeless orphan in Toledo, Spain. He was in a foreign land and had nobody to care for him. John of God was eventually taken in by a man named Francisco Mayoral. The boy settled down as a shepherd caring for his sheep in the countryside.
We know this sordid story about him because a biography of him was written by Francisco de Castro, the chaplain at St. John of God’s hospital in Granada, Spain. Castro drew from his personal knowledge of John as a young man and also used material gathered from eyewitnesses and contemporaries of his subject. The biography was published at the express wish of the Archbishop of Granada, who gave financial backing to its publication.
John of God was a Portuguese soldier who went to Africa. He had a conversion on January 20, 1537. He then became a healthcare worker who had several followers. John of God organized his followers into the Order of Hospitallers, who were approved by the Holy See in 1572 as the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God, who care for the sick in countries around the world. One mark of honour to his labours is that this order has been officially entrusted with the medical care of the Pope.
John of God Veneration
He died on March 8, 1550, in Grenada, Spain. This was his 55th birthday. He died of pneumonia after he jumped into a river to save a young man from drowning. His body was initially buried in the Church of Our Lady of the Victories, and remained there until November 28, 1664, when the Hospitaller Brothers had his relics moved to the church of their hospital in the city.
John was canonized by Pope Alexander VIII on October 16, 1690, and later named the patron saint of hospitals and the sick. A church was erected in 1757 to house his remains. The church has been raised to the rank of a basilica.
The Order of Hospitallers is currently in fifty-three countries, and operates more than three hundred hospitals, services, and centers serving many medical needs and mental health and psychiatry. John of God’s family, as those who commit to his vision are called, is made up of more than 45,000 members.
Conclusion
The conversion of John of God, from soldier to priest and healthcare worker, shows that anyone can convert, and it is never too late. He went on to found the Order of Hospitallers to care for the sick. The order still exists. The order has done, and is doing, a lot of good. Founding the order is a great legacy for him to have.
