Juan Ciudad, formerly a shepherd and soldier,…
1586 CE
Juan Ciudad, formerly a shepherd and soldier, had been so moved by the sermons of the mystic John of Avila, who became his spiritual adviser, that he decided to devote his life to the care of the poor and the sick.
For that purpose he had in 1537 rented a house in Granada, where his work had won ecclesiastical approval and attracted others.
Bishop Sebastián Ramírez of Túy, Spain, named him John of God and had given John and his followers their habit.
When John died in 1550, his companion, Antonio Martino, succeeded him, and the rule for his order was posthumously drafted.
Subsequent houses, richly endowed by King Philip II of Spain, had soon opened.
The order of nursing brothers is approved in 1586 by Pope Sixtus V as the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God (Brothers Hospitallers).
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