St. John of God Prayer for the Sick and Hospitals

St. John of God (1495–1550), a Portuguese shepherd, soldier and bookseller who was converted by a sermon and then treated as a madman, founded a hospital in Granada where every sick and poor person was welcomed. From his work grew the Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God, who still care for the sick in hospitals around the world. The Church has named him a patron of hospitals, of the sick, of nurses and of those with heart disease. Below are prayers to St. John of God for the sick, for heart patients, for nurses and hospital workers and for those with mental illness, Scripture and his story.

A prayer to St. John of God

Written for this page:

St. John of God, you welcomed every sick and poor person as Christ himself,
carrying them on your shoulders and begging for them in the streets.
Pray for me, that my heart may be as open as your hospital door,
and that I may serve the suffering with tenderness.
Obtain for me the grace I ask: (name your intention). Amen.

A prayer for the sick

St. John of God, patron of the sick,
pray for (name), who is ill (in the hospital).
Ask the Lord to relieve his (her) pain, to guide the doctors and nurses,
and to restore him (her) to health, if it is God’s will.
Give him (her) courage, peace and the comfort of faith. Amen.

This prayer was written for this page. See the prayer for the sick and the prayer before surgery.

A prayer for heart patients

St. John of God is invoked by those with heart disease, in memory of his great heart for the suffering.

St. John of God, you had a heart big enough for all the sick of Granada.
Pray for me (for name) in this illness of the heart.
Guide the doctors, bless the treatment,
and keep my heart close to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Amen.

This prayer was written for this page. See the Sacred Heart novena.

A prayer for nurses and hospital workers

St. John of God, patron of nurses and hospitals,
bless all who care for the sick: nurses, doctors, chaplains, aides, cleaners and volunteers.
Give them skill and stamina, patience with the difficult,
tenderness with the frightened, and rest when they are weary. Amen.

This prayer was written for this page. See the prayers of the faithful for healthcare workers.

A prayer for those with mental illness

After his conversion, John was locked up in the asylum of Granada and saw how harshly the mentally ill were treated. He resolved to care for them with kindness.

St. John of God, you were treated as mad and knew the suffering of the mentally ill.
Pray for (name) and for all who live with mental illness.
Give them good care, understanding friends and peace of mind,
and free them from stigma and fear. Amen.

This prayer was written for this page. See the patron saints of mental health.

Scripture for St. John of God

The parable of the Good Samaritan describes his life:

But a certain Samaritan being on his journey, came near him; and seeing him, was moved with compassion.
And going up to him, bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine: and setting him upon his own beast, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
And the next day he took out two pence, and gave to the host, and said: Take care of him; and whatsoever thou shalt spend over and above, I, at my return, will repay thee.

Then shall the king say to them that shall be on his right hand: Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in:
Naked, and you covered me: sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came to me.
Then shall the just answer him, saying: Lord, when did we see thee hungry, and fed thee; thirsty, and gave thee drink?
And when did we see thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and covered thee?
Or when did we see thee sick or in prison, and came to thee?
And the king answering, shall say to them: Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me.

The life of St. John of God

João Cidade was born on March 8, 1495, in Montemor-o-Novo, in Portugal. At about eight he left home and ended up in Spain, where he worked as a shepherd and then as a soldier in the armies of Emperor Charles V. In his forties he settled in Granada and sold religious books from a stall.

In 1537, moved by a sermon of St. John of Avila, he was so overwhelmed by sorrow for his sins that he ran through the streets crying for mercy and gave away all his books. People took him for a madman and locked him in the Royal Hospital, where the mentally ill were whipped and chained. St. John of Avila guided him, and he came out determined to care for the sick and the poor.

In about 1539 he opened a small hospital in Granada. He went through the streets at night with a basket, begging with the cry, “Do good, brothers, for your own sake!”, and carried the sick and abandoned on his back to his hospital. Companions joined him, and after his death they became the Order of Hospitallers of St. John of God. He died in Granada on his fifty-fifth birthday, March 8, 1550, after falling ill when he jumped into the river to save a drowning young man. He was canonized in 1690, and Pope Leo XIII named him, with St. Camillus de Lellis, patron of hospitals and the sick.

Feast day and patronage

Feast day: March 8. A novena can run from February 27 to March 7.
Patron of: hospitals, the sick, nurses, heart patients, booksellers and printers, and firefighters.
Symbols: a pomegranate topped with a cross (from the arms of Granada), a crown of thorns, a basket and alms box, and a sick person carried on his back.

Frequently asked questions

What is St. John of God the patron saint of?

Hospitals, the sick, nurses, heart patients and booksellers.

When is St. John of God’s feast day?

March 8, which was both his birthday and the day he died.

Who are the Brothers of St. John of God?

The Order of Hospitallers of St. John of God, a religious order of brothers who run hospitals, psychiatric centers and care homes around the world.

Why is St. John of God the patron of firefighters?

Because, according to his biographers, he carried patients out of a burning hospital in Granada and came out unharmed.

More prayers

Texts and sources

Scripture: Luke 10:33–35; Matthew 25:34–40, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
The prayers were written for this page.