HOSPITALLERS OF ST. JOHN OF GOD

(Official Catholic Directory #0670) A nursing order of brothers founded in Spain in 1537 by St. john of god, a Portuguese shepherd who became an apostle of charity among the sick and needy of Granada. Pius V, in 1572, 22 years after the founder's death, recognized the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God (OH), which had adopted the Rule of St. Augustine and a monastic habit of robe, cincture, scapular, and cowl. In addition to solemn vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, the brothers take a vow of hospitality by which they bind themselves to work for the sick. The spirit of the order is summed up in its motto "Caritas," which denotes a striving after the love of God through a love of the sick, in each of whom the brothers see the person of Christ.

The order spread rapidly throughout Europe where some of its hospitals acquired renown because of the brothers' medical and surgical skill. Still more widespread was the rural hospital where the brother-infirmarian paid daily domiciliary visits to the sick, the brother-pharmacist grew herbs to treat diseases, and the brother-chaplain (some of the members become priests) cared for the spiritual needs of religious, patients, and peasants. In the 17th century nearly 70 such hospitals were established in South America, where by the example of their charity the brothers played a part in the conversion of the native Americans. In the 18th century the order had 300 hospitals in Europe and South America, staffed by 2,700 brothers.

The French Revolution (1789) and its aftermath proved calamitous to the order; the brothers were expelled from 40 hospitals. With the return of religious tolerance, however, the brothers opened new hospitals. Their history in the first half of the 20th century was marked by a wider diffusion throughout the world. The brothers arrived in the U.S. in 1941. The generalate is in Rome. The U.S. provincialate is in Los Angeles, CA.

Bibliography: n. mcmahon, The Story of the Hospitallers of St. John of God (Westminster, Md. 1959).

[n. mcmahon/eds.]