John the Merciful
Patriarch of Alexandria
Feast: 23 January (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
John, son of the governor of Cyprus, married and had children, but after the death of his wife and children entered religious life. In youth he had seen a vision of Compassion, 'the eldest daughter of the Great King'.
As Patriarch of Alexandria from 606 he became famous across the East for his generosity, keeping a list of thousands of poor people whom he called his 'lords and masters'. Driven out by the Persians, he died in Cyprus in 616.
The miracles
There was never a formal cause: he has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.
Why that counted as sanctity
A patriarch who called the poor his masters.
Connected on this site
- Tychon of Amathus Saint“Tychon's vita was written by John the Merciful, Patriarch of Alexandria, who was born in Amathus.” — Wikipedia
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - St. John the Almsgiver
- Wikidata Q372668 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — John the Merciful (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.