THE SAINTS IN A YEAR - ST JOHN OF GOD AND THE POWER OF COMPASSION AND MERCY

The Sisters and Brothers of St John of God have made an immense contribution to the Irish and Universal Church in the areas of education, physical and mental health care. As their numbers declined, they looked forward to the future to ensure that the ethos of mercy and care would continue in the same spirit of their patron saint, St John of God, whose feast day we celebrate on 8^th March.

Juan Ciudad was born in Portugal in 1495. When he was eight years old, he separated from his family and brought to Spain. As a young man, he became a soldier and fought in two wars – one against the French and another in Vienna against the Turks. Having survived the wars, he returned to Spain and embarked on a long spiritual journey that took him to various cities, including Seville, Ceuta, Gibraltar and Granada, where he worked as a book seller.

Having heard a homily by John of Avila, he experienced a profound spiritual transformation that changed his life. His conversion story also includes a pilgrimage to Spain’s Santiago de Compostela Cathedral along the ‘Way of St. James’. There, he confessed his sins and committed himself to living a life of merciful compassion. He dedicated the remainder of his life to doing good for others as God was good to him.

He began his mission of helping the poor, the sick and those in need, assisting marginalised people, such as the homeless and those living on the streets. A phrase associated with him was ‘Fate bene Fratelli…Do good brothers and sisters’ – a simple yet attractive invitation to everyone to express our ability to do good every day.

In 1539, he founded his first hospital named the “House of God”, where he offered hospitality and care to anyone who needed it. In the same year, he received the religious habit from the Archbishop of Granada, who also gave him the name, John of God, which had already been attributed to him by the people. The name spoke volumes about how he was perceived first and foremost as a man of God who showed mercy to God’s people. He died on 8 March 1550, aged 55. His companions later founded the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God, the Fate bene fratelli.

John was canonised by Pope Alexander VIII in 1690 and was proclaimed Patron Saint of hospitals and the sick by Pope Leo XIII in 1886. He was declared Patron Saint of nurses and their associations by Pius XI in 1930 and named as second Patron Saint of Granada by Pius XII in 1940.

In this season of Lent, almsgiving is one of the three pillars of the penitential season. Included in this call to charity is a renewed focus on the corporal works of mercy that concretise love and how we can apply it in practical and consistent ways where it is most needed. John of God was the face of the Father’s mercy for the people who were sick, for the poor and for the homeless. He lived love, mercy and compassion in a truly extravagant way.

St John of God’s story is all the more remarkable given that there were times in his life when he stood in need of that mercy himself. He was detached from his family as a child and had a mental breakdown as an adult. Yet despite his woundedness, he did not wait to be perfect but committed himself to show mercy, believing that the best way to receive mercy is to live it. In his own words: “If we kept before us the mercy of God, we would never be deficient in doing good, while strength was in us. For, when we make over to the poor, out of the love of God, what he himself has given us, his promise is that we shall receive a hundredfold in eternal happiness”.

The Sisters and Brothers of St John of God maintain a presence in 53 countries around the world, operating more than 300 hospitals, services, and centres serving a range of medical needs in addition to mental health and psychiatry. The Family of Saint John of God is made up of more than 45,000 members, brothers, sisters and co-workers, and supported by tens of thousands of benefactors and friends who identify with and support the work of the order for sick and needy people everywhere. St John of God is proof that a life of merciful love is fruitful way beyond the person’s own lifetime. So never underestimate the fruitfulness of the goodness and mercy that we show today.