St. John of God Community Services is part of the Hospitaller Order
of St. John of God, which strives to emulate the work and philosophy of
St. John of God.
Who is St. John of God? In the late 1400's, John Cuidad was born in
the small town of Montemoronovo in Portugal. He left Portugal at the
age of eight, and spent the greater part of his life traveling throughout
Europe and North Africa working as a shepherd, soldier, bookseller and
laborer.
When John finally settled in Granada, Spain, around the age of forty,
he underwent a religious conversion so dramatic in its intensity that he
was placed in a psychiatric hospital. His brief experience of the
inhumane treatment of the poor and disabled gave him insight into their
real needs. As a result, he envisioned some of the most important
principles of mental health care and treatments that are being
implemented in progressive educational and health systems today.
John's devotion to the poor and disabled was so uplifting that he
attracted a band of followers eager to share in his mission. Today, the
Brothers of St. John of God continue that mission of hospitality, serving
the poor, the sick and the disabled in forty-nine countries worldwide.
St. John of God was born in 1495, he died in 1550, and was
Canonized in 1690.