His story
Born in Portugal in 1495, he was so moved by the preaching of John of Avila at Granada that he gave away everything he owned. He rented a house in Granada and gave himself to caring there for the sick and the poor. When the Grand Hospital of Granada caught fire, he carried every patient out and came through the flames unhurt. His last illness came from trying, in vain, to save a young man from drowning, and he died at Granada on 8 March 1550; the men who followed him became the Brothers Hospitallers.
“St. John of God”, Catholic Encyclopedia, 1910; The Roman Martyrology, 1916, 8 March
His feast day
8 March: The day he died in the Catholic Church.
Why people ask St John of God
Healing
He founded a hospital for the poor in Granada, and Pope Leo XIII named him, with St Camillus de Lellis, the heavenly patron of hospitals and the sick. Many Catholics also ask him for those with heart disease.
The Roman Martyrology, 1916, 8 March; “St. John of God”, Catholic Encyclopedia, 1910; Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, Chattanooga, 2022
Students and exams
Pope Pius XI named him, with St Camillus de Lellis, a principal patron of nurses and of nurses’ associations in 1930.
New Advent’s note to “St. Camillus de Lellis”, Catholic Encyclopedia
Where it comes from
Who wrote it
No one knows who wrote this modern prayer. The Basilica of Sts Peter and Paul in Chattanooga printed it in 2022 for a parishioner facing heart surgery.
Prayer to St John of God for healing, Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 2022
