st. john of god_short version

Re: St. John of God, Short Biography
Fr: Selina Vasquez (2011 June-July). “Stories of Saints: Saint John of God”. Jesus (Gospel Komiks Edition for Young Readers). Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 25-27 (underscore mine).

Saint John was born in Montemor, Portugal in 1495. His parents were devout Christians. Although they were poor, this did not prevent them from being very generous. St. John ws only a small child when his mother died.

John's desire to travel moved him to leave home. But from then on, he never saw his parents again. He begged from village to village and got sick. Then a rich farmer took care of John and hired him as a shepherd. [25/26]

But later, John left his job because the farmer was offering to him his daughter in marriage. John refused and instead joined the Spanish army

After years of hard service in the army, John left. Trying to make up for his past misdeeds, John sold wood in the market to earn money so as to be able to feed the poor. He even rented a house and gathered all the sick, the poor, and the homeless. Because of John's strange behavior, he was brought to a mental ward and was beaten brutally. People thought he was insane because he shouted his sins and asked forgiveness for them. [26/27]

While in the hospital, John realized that the poor and needy deserved better treatment than he had received. So after John was found to be sane and was discharged from the hospital, he decided to devote the rest of his life to care for the sick and the poor. Later, people treated him with respect and helped him set up a hospital for the poor and a congregation of religious brothers, now knows as the Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God.

To many, John was also a hero. Once, John saved patients trapped in a burning hospital. But the heroic act that cost John's life was when he jumped into the freezing water of a river to save someone from drowning. As a result, penumonia claimed his life on March 8, 1550 which was also his 55th birthday.

John was proclaimed saint in 1690. Today, he is honored as the patron saint of hospitals and the dying. The San Juan de Dios Hospital is named after him.