John of God

Who they were

Juan Ciudad was born in a small town in Portugal and left home at eight. Until 27 he lived with a family of shepherds at Oropesa in Spain; then he became a soldier, fighting at Pavia and at the siege of Vienna, and travelled Europe and even Africa before settling in Granada as a bookseller.

Converted, he gave himself to the sick, the poor, orphans, prostitutes and the unemployed, opening hospitals at Granada and Toledo. He died in 1550, aged 55, kneeling in prayer with a crucifix in his hands. He left no rule, but his brothers carried on, and 45 years later his teaching became the Rule of the Hospitaller Order of St John of God, the 'Fatebenefratelli' - 'do good, brothers', as he used to say.

The miracles

Vatican News gives 1609 as the year of his canonisation; other sources give 16 October 1690, by Alexander VIII. He is patron of the sick and of hospitals.

Why that counted as sanctity

After a restless life of adventure, John found Christ in the sick and the outcast and spent everything on them, founding a family of hospitallers that still serves the sick across the world.

Connected on this site

• Benito Menni Saint
  “Menni was a professed member of the Order of the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God and he went on to establish a religious congregation of women known as the Sisters Hospitaller of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, whose ministry was based upon that of his own order.” — Wikipedia
• Juan Grande Saint
  “Juan Grande Román, OH (6 March 1546 – 3 June 1600) was a Spanish Catholic member of the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God.” — Wikipedia
• Riccardo Pampuri Saint
  “Riccardo Pampuri, OH (2 August 1897 – 1 May 1930) - born Erminio Filippo Pampuri was an Italian medical doctor and a veteran of World War I who was also a professed member of the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God.” — Wikipedia
• Cecilio López López Blessed
  “Near Madrid in Spain, Blessed Cristino (Miguel) Roca Huguet, priest, and eleven companions, martyrs, who, all belonging to the Order of Saint John of God, were killed during the civil war out of hatred of religion.” — this site's research
• Cosme Brun Blessed
  “Near Madrid in Spain, Blessed Cristino (Miguel) Roca Huguet, priest, and eleven companions, martyrs, who, all belonging to the Order of Saint John of God, were killed during the civil war out of hatred of religion.” — this site's research
• Dolores Puig Bonany Blessed
  “On 7 September 1936 she and Sister Josefa of Saint John of God Ruano García were recognised as religious and arrested near Requena station; the next morning they were killed near Buñol, forgiving their killers.” — this site's research
• Eustachius Kugler Blessed
  “Joseph Kugler, OH (15 January 1867 – 10 June 1946) was a German Roman Catholic professed religious of the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God.” — Wikipedia
• Federico Rubio Álvarez Blessed
  “Federico (Carlos) Rubio Álvarez was a priest of the Hospitaller Order of St John of God.” — this site's research
• Francisco Arias Martín Blessed
  “At Valdemoro near Madrid in Spain, Blessed Francisco Arias Martín, priest and martyr, who, a novice in the Order of Saint John of God, completed his journey of perfection in a short time in an age of persecution.” — this site's research
• Ignacio Tejero Molina Blessed
  “At Calafell near Tarragona on the Spanish coast, Blessed martyrs Braulio María (Pablo) Corres Díaz de Cerio, priest, and fourteen companions of the Order of Saint John of God, who, captured during the persecution against religious, merited the most blessed crown of martyrdom, forgiving their enemies.” — this site's research
• Jacinto Hoyuelos Blessed
  “Jacinto Hoyuelos González was a professed brother of the Hospitaller Order of St John of God.” — this site's research
• Jaime Óscar Valdés Blessed
  “He made his perpetual vows in the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God on 5 February 1920.” — this site's research