Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God
| Abbreviation | O.H. |
|---|---|
| Founder | St. John of God |
| Founded at | Granada, Spain |
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Prior General
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The Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God (officially the Hospitaller Order of the Brothers of Saint John of God; abbreviated as O.H.) are a Roman Catholic order founded in 1572. They are also known commonly as the Fatebenefratelli, meaning "Do-Good Brothers" in Italian, the Brothers of Mercy, and the Merciful Brothers. The Order carries out a wide range of health and social service activities in 389 centres and services in 46 countries.
John of God, the founder of this religious Order, was born 8 March 1495 at Montemor-o-Novo in Portugal. Twice he enlisted in the Spanish army against the French and later the Turks. After years of living a highly religious way of life in Spain resulting from a conversion experience, in 1535 he founded his first hospital at Granada, where he served the sick and afflicted. After ten years spent in the exercise of charity, he died 8 March 1550, of pneumonia, after he had plunged into a river to save a young man from drowning. He was canonized by Pope Alexander VIII in 1690 and was declared the patron saint of the dying and of all hospitals by Pope Leo XIII in 1898.
John of God's first companion, Anton Martín, O.H., was chosen to succeed him as Prior General of the order. Thanks to the generosity of King Philip II of Spain, a hospital was founded at Madrid, another at Córdoba and several others in various Spanish towns. Pope Pius V approved the Order of the Brothers Hospitallers in 1572 under the Rule of St. Augustine. The order spread rapidly into the other countries of Europe, and even into the distant colonies. In 1584, Pope Gregory XIII called some of the Brothers to Rome and gave them the Hospital of St. John Calybita located on an island in the Tiber, which then became the motherhouse of the whole order. Brother Sebastiano Arias founded the Hospital of Our Lady at Naples and the famous Hospital of Milan. Another Brother Hospitaller at this time was John Grande, O.H., who was beatified by Pope Pius IX in 1852. The fist general of Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God was Pedro Soriano.
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