Today the Church remembers a saint who embodied that old tune, “He ain’t heavy…he’s my brother…”: Saint John of God, Patron Saint of Those Struggling with Mental Health.

Born Joao Duarte Cidade at the tail end of the 15th Century, he would spend his first years shrouded in mystery as he was abducted from his parents at the age of eight, though history has lost why or how this happened. Though he was born in Portugal, he found himself as a young boy living on the streets in Spain, and eventually was taken in by a man named Francisco Mayoral, and became a shepherd for the sheep of the estate.

Francisco took a liking to young Joao, and asked him to become betrothed to his daughter. But Joao wasn’t really feeling the marriage thing, and so as to not have to keep turning Francisco down, he went off to join Charles V in the Crusades. Military life wasn’t for him, though, and he got caught up in some unfortunate mishaps and ended up being falsly accused of stealing some of the treasure that, ironically, had also been stolen in the campaigns.

He went back to the hills of Spain disheartened, but enlisted again to fight another war. For 18 years he was a soldier and, having served his time, wound up back in Portugal in search of his family roots. He tracked down one of his uncles who told him of the sad state of his birth parents: his mother died shortly after his kidnapping from grief, and his father had become a Franciscan monk and had also died years later.

Once again Joao felt homeless and people-less, and felt an urge to visit the contentint of Africa to find purpose. On his way there he befrieded a Portuguese knight who had been exiled to the furthest reaches of the kingdom with his family. Joao traveled with them and after they arrived in Ceuta (a northern part of Africa then colonized by Portugal) it became clear that the knight’s possessions had been stolen in travel, and the whole family came down with severe illness. The knight begged Joao to care for them, and Joao took on the role of nurse, caring for the family’s daily needs and tending to their illness.

He had found his purpose.

Despite feeling purpose in caring for the knight and his family, Joao struggled with his mental health and some guilt for not having been a person of faith in his younger years. He sought Franscicans to help him sort through this anguish, and they encouraged him to return to Spain and seek God’s will for his life.

Arriving back in Spain, Joao began to wonder, waiting for God to speak to him. It was here that he had a vision where the infant Jesus spoke to him, naming him John of God, a name he would assume moving forward. He also came under the spiritual direction of John of Avila, and in what can only be described as an acute mental breakdown, began harming himself and begging forgiveness from God and anyone he met for wrongs he felt he had done.

John of Avila soothed John of God, and encouraged him to start once again healing people rather than beating himself. Spiritual Direction had reminded him of his purpose.

He went on pilgrimage to see the Black Madonna of Guadelupe and heard a Divine voice telling him to care for the sickest in the world. He did so, establishing a home for the healing of those the world wouldn’t touch, often carrying the sick there himself. He had a practice of giving his cloak to anyone who asked for it, and this happened so often that the Bishop of Tui had a habit sewn for him so that he would no longer be seen walking around in almost nothing.

Saint John of God’s devotion brought others to join him in mission. He organized the group into the Order of Hospitallers, and it was approved as a Holy Order in 1572,

Saint John of God died on this day in 1550. It is his birthday, and he was only 55 years old. His order continues on to this day, however, and has the distinction of being charged with caring for the help of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope himself.

Saint John of God is reminder for me, and should be for the whole church, that those who have mental health struggles are sometimes best equipped to touch the needs and wounds of others. They have known the shadows of the soul, and can help lead others through those shadows into healing.

-historical bits from public sources and Illes’ book Daily Magic

-icon written by Noah Gutz