Saint of the Issue: John of God

On March 8, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of St. John of God, visionary and tireless advocate for the poor and mentally ill. 

Born on March 8, 1495 in Montemor-o-Novo, Portugal, João Duarte Cidade was raised in a poor yet pious household. It is unclear whether he was kidnapped or persuaded to leave, but at the age of seven, the boy disappeared. It is said that his mother died of grief upon hearing that he disappeared, and his now twice-brokenhearted father joined the Franciscans. 

The youth ended up on the streets of Oropesa, Spain, well over a hundred miles from his home. He survived off whatever food he could find until one day when a kindly farmer took him in. The young man worked with such great diligence tending the farmer’s sheep that the farmer offered him his daughter’s hand in marriage so that João would be his heir. João, however, loved her as a sister, and refused.

The kindly farmer would not be easily deterred, and eventually João felt that it was best to leave so as to definitively refuse the offer. He joined a group of soldiers going to fight for the Holy Roman Emperor against the French.

After many irreligious years in the army, João decided to visit his hometown. Upon hearing that both his parents were dead, João realized there was nothing for him anymore in Montemor-o-Novo, and he decided to go to Africa to ransom those enslaved by the Moors.

While in Africa, João began to despair, seeing Christians converting to Islam in order to escape persecution. He felt as though he had wasted his life in the army, and so he went to a local Franciscan friary to find direction. A wise friar advised him to leave Africa, and he returned to Spain to preach.

The infant Jesus appeared to João in a vision, naming him John of God and telling him to go to Granada. While there, he heard a sermon by St. John of Avila on repentance. John of God began wildly repenting for his sins, leading the town to believe that he was insane.

John was taken away to the local insane asylum, where he received the standard treatment for mental illness of the day: chains, starvation, and daily flogging. After 40 days, St. John of Avila came to him and told him that he had atoned for his sins. He had him moved to a better part of the hospital where John of God began helping the patients.

John felt peace in his heart and he went to the new shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Extremadura, Spain. At the shrine, Our Lady appeared to him and told him to work for the poor. He did as his Heavenly Mother told him and, though still believed to be insane, he began begging for the poor.

During the day he would sell scraps of wood and tend to the sick and poor, and during the nights he would collect what medicine he could. Soon, priests and doctors began to join him, and, through the grace of the Holy Spirit he was able to open a hospital. Seeing a large group forming around his work, he organized them into the Order of Hospitallers.

John led his new order through bold and fierce love for the poor. One day, the same hospital where he had once spent 40 days caught on fire. He ran to help, and upon arriving, he saw that no one was going in to save the patients.

He saved every single patient, and would not stop there. He began pushing blankets and beds out the window, knowing how vital these were for the sick. To save the unburned part of the hospital, John seperated the burning part with an axe. The roof on which he stood, however, was burning, and John fell through the roof. By some miracle he survived, and emerged from the wreckage.

Some time later, he became sick. This would not keep him in bed, however, and on hearing that a flood was bringing driftwood to a nearby river, he charged out to gather the wood to provide money for the poor. One of his companions fell into the raging river, and John jumped in after him. This time he was unable to save his friend. He himself caught pneumonia and died on his 55th birthday. 

He is the patron saint of booksellers, firefighters, heart patients, hospitals, nurses, printers, and the sick.