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St. John of God

Feast 03-08 · Canonized 1690

Patron of

About

John of God was born João Duarte Cidade in Portugal in 1495. After a restless youth as a soldier and a bookseller, he experienced a dramatic conversion in Granada, Spain, after hearing a sermon by St. John of Ávila. He gave away his possessions and devoted himself entirely to the care of the sick and the poor.

He founded a hospital in Granada and gathered followers who became the Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God, an order dedicated to hospital work. He was known for his heroic charity, begging in the streets to support his patients and rescuing the sick from a burning hospital.

John died in Granada in 1550 and was canonized in 1690. He is the patron of hospitals, the sick, nurses, and firefighters.

hospitals, hospital, hospital care, hospital patients, hospital stays, hospital chaplaincy, hospital staff, medical centers, inpatient care, hospital work

Suggested prayer

O God, who filled St. John of God with such charity that he rescued the sick from a burning hospital in Granada, grant through his intercession that all who care for the sick may see Christ in those they serve. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Sources

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