Duthac

ON SAINT DUTHAC, BISHOP OF ROSS IN SCOTLAND.

ABOUT THE YEAR 1250.

Duthac, Bishop of Ross in Scotland (Saint)

[1] In northern Scotland there is a region called Ross or Rossia, containing under it the province of Armanothia and the County of Ass. The chief of all its cities, and the See of the Bishops of Ross, is Chanonry, Life, in place of which Tain is said to have afterward been substituted, where Saint Duthac, once buried, was renowned for miracles. We give a compendium of his Life from the old Aberdeen Breviary, in which he is inscribed on the eighth day of March, his name in the sacred calendars: on which he was called to the eternal prize. His name is likewise inscribed in the Cologne Martyrology and the Doctrinale Clericorum printed in the year 1490, before which time Hermann Greven, who also inserted Saint Duthac, Bishop and Confessor, in his additions to Usuard, had departed this life. The same was done around the same time by the author of the manuscript Florarium Sanctorum. Ferrarius finally in his General Catalogue has this: "At Tain in Scotland, of Saint Duthac the Bishop." With these authorities cited, one may more securely allege the Scottish Menologies of Dempster and Camerarius, in the former of which this is read: "At the town of Tain, of Duthac, Bishop of Ross, whose sanctity is confirmed by frequent miracles." Camerarius asserts that he is famous for the reputation of holiness in the provinces of Ross and Moray.

[2] John Leslie, in his work on the Deeds of the Scots, book 6, under William, the ninety-third King, reports the following: "In this age, to the supreme felicity of our commonwealth, there flourished above others two men in particular, cultivated both in recondite knowledge of doctrine and in the most holy rule of life, he instructed Saint Gilbert, Bishop of Caithness: Gilbert and Duthac, both Bishops — the latter of Ross, the former of Caithness. Although both of them collected such praise of piety, partly by miracles, partly by learning, that they were deemed worthy to be enrolled in the number of the Saints, yet Duthac seems to have carried the first share of glory in two respects: first, because whatever Gilbert had of either piety or learning, he drew entirely from Duthac; second, because Duthac was so venerated by the perpetual devotion of the Scots — Kings, Princes, and common people alike — a solemn pilgrimage: that in all Scotland no pilgrimage was held more numerous or more celebrated than that which was decreed to him in Ross." So Leslie. Saint Gilbert, Bishop of Caithness, is venerated on the Kalends of April, at which day he also has his own proper lessons in the said Aberdeen Breviary.

[3] Camerarius in his Menologium asserts that many things divinely predicted by him are commemorated, a calamity predicted, such as the calamities of war to be brought upon the Scots by the English and the Danes: nor did the event prove false. For in the year 1263 (namely the tenth after his heavenly departure), Haakon, King of Norway, with 160 ships, landed at the Ayrshire coast, a maritime town of Scotland. the enemy repulsed: But by the prayers of Saint Duthac, as is right to believe, Haakon was struck with a double misfortune almost at the same moment. First, having engaged with Alexander Stewart, the great-grandfather of the first of the Stuart family to hold the kingdom of Scotland, he was defeated and put to flight by the same, who repeatedly invoked Saint Andrew the Apostle, patron of Scotland. Then, with his ships battered by a most terrible storm and some sixteen thousand Norwegians lost in battle, Haakon, consumed by grief of mind, died. King Alexander of the Scots, the third of this name, is said to have enjoyed familiarity with this Saint, familiarity with King Alexander III, who, if any of the Scottish

Kings was adorned by God with all virtues of body and mind, and was most tenacious of the Catholic and ancestral religion. It is said to have been his custom every day to attend the most holy sacrifice of the Mass and to kiss most devoutly the hands of the offering Priest from the elevation of the host, because he most firmly believed and held that the same God and man who is adored in heaven by the Angels is touched by the hands of the Priest at the altar. a pious death. Saint Duthac, weary of mortal life and desirous of seeing the eternal one, already nearly spent with old age, fell into a disease. When he bore its discomforts with the most equanimous spirit, and the disease itself, as the material of solid virtue and eternal glory, was numbered by him among divine benefits, often repeating that verse of David: "And what is my expectation, is it not the Lord?" Ps. 38:8 — he sought the heavenly realms around the year of Christ 1253. So Camerarius. Of the Kings of Scotland mentioned so far, William died in the year above 1200, the fourteenth; Alexander II in the forty-third year; Alexander III in the eighty-third year, as these are indicated in Leslie. In the Aberdeen Breviary it was prefixed that Saint Duthac died under Alexander II in the year 1249.

COMPENDIUM OF THE LIFE

From the Aberdeen Breviary.

Duthac, Bishop of Ross in Scotland (Saint)

BHL Number: 2351

[1] Duthac, the elect Pontiff of God, drew his origin and birth from no ignoble Scottish family and lineage of blood; and in the beginnings of his adolescence he was handed over by his parents, He is imbued with the study of the liberal arts: to teachers excellently learned in the Christian faith, to be trained. After his age had advanced, together with that same age, the several virtues of the liberal arts also multiplied and increased in him. And while in these boyish and youthful years he was committed to the custody of his teachers, God himself, glorious, decreed to show and indicate through him a remarkable miracle to us. For while, at the instigation of his teacher, still a youth, he carries fire in his garment without being burned: he was sent to a certain forge for the purpose of obtaining fire, when he asked for fire, the smith's boy, instigated by a diabolical spirit, mocking the innocence of the little child, seized the iron tongs and, taking a not inconsiderable portion of burning coals from the furnace, brought them and threw them into the bosom of the blessed boy. He received them patiently and, carrying them to his teacher, his garments remained unburned and unharmed.

[2] Then, instructed by divine grace, he crossed by ship to Ireland, instructed in Ireland, he teaches in Scotland: in which he most carefully learned the precepts and laws of both the Old and New Testaments; and when he returned to Scotland, he publicly professed the same to all with all gentleness and mildness. By whom shortly afterward, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, he was elevated to the rank of Bishop and appointed the universal and chief Pastor of those souls, he is consecrated Bishop: and was consecrated by his fellow Bishops, meanwhile supported by outstanding miracles.

[3] For when the Blessed Duthac had been invited to dine at a certain person's house, a piece of meat and a gold ring, carried off by a kite, one of his company, overcome by gluttony, entrusted a piece of pork along with a gold ring to a certain disciple of the Blessed Duthac to be carried to his house. But the disciple, while he was making his way through a certain cemetery, laid down the piece of meat with the ring beside him, to pour out prayers for the souls of the dead resting there. While he was praying, a rapacious kite arrived, and seizing the piece of meat with the ring, flew across a certain stream into a very dense wood, and there secretly hid it. The disciple, terrified with a certain fear lest he fall into the hatred of that man, immediately returned and reported the sequence of events to the same. he recovers them by prayer: When the Blessed Duthac heard this, he poured out prayer for a little while; and without delay the kite flew back, prostrating itself at the feet of the Blessed Duthac, the man of God, with the said piece of meat and ring. The Blessed Duthac, receiving the ring, restored the piece of meat again to the kite, which joyfully flew back to its accustomed woods.

[4] A certain man devoted to the Blessed Duthac used to provide him with a loaf made with honey and butter, with one loaf he satisfies seven men, which the Blessed Duthac sent to a certain Religious man. That Religious man in turn sent it to another, and so on during one night it passed to seven persons in number. The seventh, unaware of this matter, sent the same loaf back again to the Blessed Duthac. The Blessed Duthac, blessing the same loaf, satisfied those seven, who had long been fasting, with the finest food. And moreover, having collected the fragments and offered them to the sick for whom no medicines had availed, he heals the sick: they were freed from their infirmities merely by the taste and flavor of these fragments, in the name of Christ.

[5] In the city of Dornoch, a certain Canon of that Church, on the solemnity of Saint Fimbarr, ordered a fat and plump ox to be slaughtered, to be distributed to the poor, carrying food to Saint Duthac, and one of the bystanders said about dividing it: "And who will carry a portion of this to Duthac?" A Cleric, who was held by a fervent love for the Blessed Duthac himself, among others offered himself as ready for this task; but on account of the very dark obscurity of the night and the gloomy sky, agitated by the greatest storms and winds, he could not and did not dare to leave the house. But trusting in the help and aid of the Blessed Duthac, he travels by night with a light appearing, he placed the portion of the ox upon a certain spit, and left the house. On his journey, the spit which he carried in his hand shone like a burning lamp, providing clear light to that same Cleric both going and returning in the darkness.

[6] The Blessed Duthac, after various other marks of virtues and presages of miracles, after death he is renowned for miracles, departed to Christ on the eighth day before the Ides of March, and is held in the greatest honor and veneration in the church of Tain, in the diocese of Ross: divinely granting health and the wholeness of life to the sick and those in ill health. Wherefore the greatest continuous affluence of Christian people hastens there, and he does not cease to shine with the most brilliant miracles. But after the burial of this venerable body, there for seven years, six months, and nine days, the same body was found so incorrupt the body incorrupt in the eighth year. as if it had departed from this life at that very hour. Which ecclesiastical men and men devoted to God, raising it up with honor, translated it with worthy honor from the tomb into a sarcophagus and a fitting casket. At the translation, very many miracles occurred from there onward, and far more of the sick and ailing were restored to health.

ON THE BLESSED STEPHEN, ABBOT OF OBAZINE IN FRANCE, OF THE CISTERCIAN ORDER.

YEAR 1159.

Stephen, Abbot of Obazine in France, of the Cistercian Order (Blessed)

[1] Bernard Gui, a native of Limoges, Bishop of Lodeve, who died in the year 1331, writes in his Chronicle: "Dom Stephen rests at Obazine, an abbey of the Cistercian Order, who founded the place there, and the monastery of Coyroux for nuns, not far from Obazine; Ancient memorial, whose glorious deeds are preserved, and he frequently manifests by many miracles that he lives before God." Geoffrey, Prior of Vigeois, in his Chronicle, written within the first thirty years after the death of Blessed Stephen, in part 1, chapter 15, where he treats of the more illustrious Saints in the Diocese of Limoges, reports at the end thus: "At Obazine, Saint Stephen, Prior of that place, shines with many miracles." The deeds of Blessed Stephen were written by his disciple in three books, the deeds from which very many things were inserted by Angel Manrique in volumes 1 and 11 of the Cistercian Annals. In these the anonymous author, in the Prologue of book 1, attests that he will write absolutely nothing written by an anonymous disciple of his: except what he himself saw or proved to be true by the reliable narration of faithful men who saw it. Similar things he promises in the Prologue of book 2, and then in chapter 4, where he asserts that he was received by Blessed Stephen, blessed as a monk, and lived under him or his successors. Consult Manrique at the year 1142, chapter 6, number 2. This Life was afterward abbreviated by someone, with certain things trimmed as superfluous but retaining the same words, which we transcribed in the year 1662 when we were at Citeaux, then abbreviated. from volume 4, number 37, having been received there with extraordinary hospitality. We indicate certain things from other Acts in the Notes, and from these we append an Appendix concerning his death, burial, and miracles.

[2] Blessed Stephen died in the year 1159, on March 8, the second Sunday of Lent, and was buried on the Wednesday after that, March 11, Died on March 8, as is established from the Life at number 18. This passage was misread by Claude Robert and the Sainte-Marthes in Gallia Christiana, and by Jongelinus in the Notice of Cistercian Abbeys, when they write that he died on the sixth day before the Ides of March. At which day Menard inserted him in the Benedictine Martyrology thus: "At Obazine in the territory of Limoges, the Blessed Stephen, Abbot of the Cistercian Order." not on March 10, Meanwhile, in the compendium of the Life which he has in book 2 of the Observationes, he correctly writes that he died on the eighth day before the Ides of March. Bucelinus copies Menard, and Saussay among the Pious. Angel Manrique at the year 1159, chapter 3, number 9, corrects Henriquez, who reported April 27, and praises Menard, who assigned the day of March 10 on which the Saint died. Meanwhile, from the author's words he indicates in chapter 2, number 5, that he passed away on the eighth day before the Ides of March. Manrique everywhere calls him Saint in the Annals and the Laurea Evangelica, where in book 3, discourse 7, the old Missal, Abbot John, Robert Rusca, and Barnabas de Montalbo are cited; whom also Philip Seguin is cited by Chrysostom Henriquez at April 27, where he has: "At Obazine, Saint Stephen, the first Abbot of that monastery," etc. Bucelinus, supposing him to be different from the one he had reported on March 10 from Menard, nor on April 27. gave him again on the said April 27 in the very words of Henriquez, retaining Obosma, for which Obasina should be written. He then added the words of Seguin transcribed from the same Henriquez.

LIFE

Author: anonymous, a disciple of Blessed Stephen.

From a Cistercian manuscript.

Stephen, Abbot of Obazine in France, of the Cistercian Order (Blessed)

BHL Number: 7917

FROM A CISTERCIAN MANUSCRIPT.

CHAPTER I.

Studies. Priesthood. Anachoretic life.

[1] Born of pious parents, Stephen, therefore, was a native of the territory of Limoges in the region of Aquitaine, of parents honorable among their own and of a long Christian lineage: his father was likewise named Stephen, his mother was called Gausberta. Being commendable through many good qualities, they begot this son, beloved of God, necessary not so much to themselves as to the Church of God. It is reported that a vision was shown at night to his mother, when she was carrying him in her womb, pregnant and swelling, that she had given birth to a lamb in place of a son, and that when it was grown, a great flock of sheep was entrusted to it. When she had narrated this to a certain holy man of God, she heard from him that she would bear such a son to whom a great people of souls would be entrusted by Christ to be formed by heavenly instruction. And so, born and grown up, he was handed over to teachers, to be imbued with sacred letters in the school of the Church, and having been not inconsiderably instructed in these, he shortly attained full knowledge of those scriptures which either pertained to the divine

worship or to the edification of souls. he is instructed in sacred letters,

When he had reached a greater age, he took up the care of his father's house, which he governed strenuously and ruled with discipline. But since he was devoted to good works, he pursued the care of the poor more zealously than that of his parents, because a better cause pressed upon him: for to the latter he was drawn by human feeling, but to the former by mercy and the hope of eternal reward. devoted to almsgiving, He was a father to orphans, a nourisher of the poor, a receiver of pilgrims, and a pious consoler of widows. His hands were extended more for giving than for receiving, so that the saying of the Psalmist might be fulfilled: "He has distributed, he has given to the poor; his justice endures forever and ever." Ps. 111:9 He showed himself chaste, sober, and kind, affable and generous to all, so that all who dwelt round about marveled at his industry and prudence. Nevertheless, he still served, at least in outward appearance, in trifles and worldly display, and was refined in clothing, though he was considered more refined in character. This, however, he displayed first to avoid vainglory, to conceal the purpose of his heart, and lest others should think more of him than he thought of himself.

[2] The Priest despises transitory things: After he was elevated by God's bounty to the grace of the Priestly Order, he utterly abandoned the secular life, and what he had previously despised in mind, he now rejected in deed and conduct. Now laughter and those former trifles were turned into mourning, and the lightness of joy into sorrow. The hunts of wild beasts he used to pursue were transformed into the capture of souls. Now the elegance of precious garments was laid aside, and the preparation of sweet foods was despised. For instead of soft clothing, he wore a hair shirt next to the skin, he lives austerely, and instead of pleasant food, he took his bread with tears and his drink with weeping. Indeed, he treated his body with such austerity that he nearly killed it with both fasting and cold. For in the middle of winter, when everything was bound by frost and cold, he would break the ice with an axe, and there, immersed up to his neck, he would endure until the force of the cold penetrated more deeply into his inner parts. inflamed with divine love, He was preeminent in fasting, assiduous in vigils, prompt in prayers, which not the composition of words but the devotion of tears offered to the divine ears. His speech was seasoned with salt and kindled with charity, pouring the fire of divine love and the seasoning of wisdom into his hearers. Such great grace of teaching had been given to him by the Lord that no satiety of hearing the word from his mouth ever followed. He was vigilantly attentive to the Divine Offices, never interrupting his proper course for any cares or occupations, unless detained by serious illness or an unavoidable cause. In those matters, indeed, he is zealous for the beauty of the church, which properly pertain to the ministry of the altar — that is, sacred vessels, vestments, or any ornaments in the churches where he ministered — he bestowed such great diligence that on account of this he appeared admirable among all other churches and everywhere beyond reproach. He was assiduous in reading the divine Scriptures, and adhered especially to the Gospel expositions: solicitous for eternal salvation: whence, both by reading for himself and by preaching to others, he might provide for eternal salvation. And when he read and heard many things there about contempt for the world and the glory of the age to come, his mind was greatly kindled to the contempt of present things and the desire for future things, saying in a manner with the Prophet: "When shall I come and appear before the face of God?" Ps. 41:3

[3] Inflamed by such desires, he daily resolved to renounce the world: he deliberates about a state of life: so that, having cast away earthly cares, poor and naked, he might follow the poor Christ with unimpeded steps. But lest he should seem to do this rashly and without counsel, he approached a certain Religious and most holy man, whose fame of holiness was held very celebrated everywhere round about. When he had disclosed to him the purpose of his mind, seeking counsel, the venerable elder answered him thus: "It is fitting, dearest one, that you should not long delay the desire divinely inspired in you, nor defer it from day to day, knowing that delay has always harmed those who are ready. Rather, as you have conceived in mind, cast away the cares of the world and pursue the footsteps of Christ in a blessed course, so that by your example many may be converted to God." Relying on this response as on a divine oracle, he returned joyfully to his home. He had, moreover, in this purpose a certain companion named Peter, a man of wonderful simplicity, who had himself also been recently ordained a Priest. he acquires a companion: To him alone he had entrusted the secrets of his heart, on the condition that, together renouncing the world, they would without hesitation take up the habit of the holy religious life, and persevere in it until the end of life. From then on, the holy men hastened to fulfill what they had vowed to God.

[4] Therefore, after a few intervening days, in the week before Lent, when ashes are customarily given, both bid farewell to their kinsmen: having convoked the crowds of their relatives to bid a final farewell, they provided them a solemn banquet with fraternal charity, and whatever remained of their substance they distributed to the poor. They spent the following night in vigils and prayers, keeping watch, beseeching the clemency of God that He would aid and carry forward the vows which He had first inspired by His prevenient grace. Then, putting on a Religious garment, immediately before dawn, on Friday, having left their native soil, they began to go forth with bare feet as if into exile. they migrate to the forest of Obazine, Setting out, therefore, the man of God together with his venerable companion, having surveyed the region on all sides, at length sought out the forest of Obazine, so called, I believe, from the shade of the woods and the density of the brambles with which it was clothed on every side. This place, besides the density of the woods, was encircled on either side by precipitous crags, with a certain river running below, which seemed to lend no small pleasantness to the place. Arriving at this place on Good Friday, the blessed men, with bare feet as they were, fearlessly penetrated its interior. There was not far off a modest level plain, depressed among the valleys, but thick with the waste of thorns and brambles, with a small stream running through the middle. they fast for two days: Into this, after many twists and descending circuits through the hollows of valleys and the precipices of mountains, they entered, and remained there that day and the next without food or any comfort. On the third day, which is the day of the Lord's Resurrection, they went to a nearby church, and having borrowed shoes, one of them sang the Mass and gave communion to his companion. When this was done, having returned the shoes, since no one invited them to dinner, they began to return to their lodging not without sadness. And as they were gradually ascending the ridges of the mountain and, exhausted by weariness and hunger at its summit, were resting a little, a certain matron from the neighboring countryside, which is called Pauliac, approached them, bringing them half a round loaf of bread and a vessel of milk. they receive food: They received this with such great joy that the holy man afterward testified that in his whole life he had never received anything more delightful as food. Returning therefore to their lodging and refreshed by that food, since no one yet knew who they were or where they were, they spent many days there without human food, they live on herbs: except for roots of herbs or fruits of trees, such as could be found in the wilderness.

[5] One day, a certain head of a household who lived nearby, as he was going to church, it came to his mind — God inspiring him — again they are refreshed by visitors: to bring provisions to the poor people dwelling there. And while he thought he was going thither, suddenly having lost the way, as if wandering, he arrived at the place where the man of God was staying with his companion. Seeing, therefore, the aforesaid man, unknown persons sitting in a Religious habit, at first he was amazed, and then moved to pity, he offered them the provisions he was carrying, by which they were sustained that day and the next. Not long after, having been discovered by shepherds, while they were made known by them through the neighboring places, many began to come to visit them, and while they brought them nourishment for the body, they carried back from their lips nourishment for the soul — although they feared from previous experience that they would not persevere there long. For a certain pseudo-anchorite had once come there, who, pretending that he wished to remain, abandoned because of the flight of a certain pseudo-hermit, built a cell in the manner of an oratory. And when the people offered many things there, he gladly received them, and what he could not consume he converted into money. Finally, he appointed a day for those coming to him, on which they should unanimously gather as if for a votive solemnity of Masses. But on the night preceding the appointed day, thinking I know not what, having taken everything he had, he disappeared. Because of his sudden departure, those who had gathered and those who had heard, equally mocked and offended, became harsher toward these men, supposing they would do the same thing. Hence, being neglected by them, they endured such great deprivation of hunger that they eagerly plucked even the tender shoots of trees and whatever was green, and set these before themselves as pleasant food. they are tormented by hunger: Their drink was a very small amount of water, which they drew with a fragment of a pot to satisfy nature; and indeed they used that same pot fragment for many days. The hard ground provided their bed, they use a hard bed, on which they cast their limbs, exhausted by fasting, rather to be bruised than to rest. And lest even pillows should be lacking, they placed hard stones under their heads, which both drove away sleep and removed softness. garments Their garments clung to their flesh until the excess of filth compelled them to change. Then, stripping them off, they would put them in water, and when washed and slightly wrung out, they dressed in them again, so that their bodies, with the garment soaked and saturated with frost, were nearly consumed as much by the weight as by the cold. They did this especially in winter, when there was no necessity for washing, but only the will to torment themselves. coat of mail. But when these things were not sufficient, Father Stephen procured a coat of mail, which he secretly wore next to the skin for many years, until it was gradually consumed by age and rust. Thus the good athlete had condemned himself in the flesh for Christ, so that his spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord.

Manrique at the year of Christ 1142, chapter 6, number 2, asserts that a vision was shown to his pregnant mother, now in the form of a little lamb, now in the form of a puppy, to whom a great flock of sheep was entrusted to be guarded.

CHAPTER II.

The monastery of Obazine constructed. The rigor of monastic life.

[6] They construct a hut: He then constructed there a small hut of wood, covered with a rough roof, in which day and night together with the venerable Peter he persisted in continual prayers and the chanting of psalms. And when, after a brief rest by which they somewhat refreshed their weary limbs, they rose for the divine praises, while chanting, as soon as they saw themselves weighed down by sleep, seizing bundles of rods, they would strip their sides bare and beat each other in turn. Thus their flesh, exhausted by fasting they chastise their bodies with rods: and wearied by the weight of vigils and labors, was also furrowed by prolonged beating, so that through this, having been reduced to servitude and given over to the spirit, it might bring forth not carnal but spiritual fruits. That he had done this in such a way was clearly shown, since his holy face, furrowed with wrinkles and worn by the pallor of fasting, sprouted only sparse and thin hairs; and even the hair of his head was not changed in old age,

so as to incur either baldness or whiteness, so that he would have been thought a young man, had not the wrinkles themselves, as it is written, borne witness to him.

[7] After this, his above-mentioned companion, by mutual consent, set out for the city of Limoges, having joined to himself a Cleric having received another companion, who had recently come to them, and who afterward, having left all things, was converted in that place, in which he lived religiously until the end of his life and was consummated with a blessed death. From his account I have learned many things about the deeds of the blessed man, because I was familiar with him in the world, and in the religious life I adhered to him inseparably until his death. Arriving at the city, they spoke with the Bishop, and having received authority from the Bishop, diligently disclosing to him their cause and the purpose of the blessed man. He, blessing them, blessed the Cross which they had brought him, and delivered it to them with water blessed by himself, giving them authority to celebrate Mass and to build a monastery — provided, however, that they should follow in all things the custom handed down from the Fathers. Having heard and received these things, they returned with joy to their Father. they construct a small monastery: Then the man of God moved his dwelling to the farther side of the stream and built an oratory with enlarged buildings pertaining to it, for already some who had been converted to God had been adhering for some time to his discipleship, and, subjected to the yoke of discipline, were leading an exceedingly arduous and austere life with him. When, however, that place was filled with the multitude of those coming and dwelling there, Father Stephen began to consider Blessed Stephen desires solitude, in what place he could suitably establish them. Yet his mind, desirous of solitude and impatient of the cares which he feared he would suffer from governing many, was gnawed and more vehemently tormented. For he had not sought the aforesaid place in order to gather great crowds of men there, but to live in solitude, so that he might more secretly and freely devote himself to God, and more freely mortify his flesh, fearing neither the praise nor the prohibition of anyone. Frequently addressing his companion, he strove to persuade him that they should go to the Saracens, he urges his companions to go to the Saracens. if perchance they might convert some of them by preaching, or they themselves might be killed by those unbelievers for Christ's sake. This his venerable companion dissuaded with as many admonitions as he could, saying that it was better to convert by word and example those who had already believed from their wicked deeds, than to labor fruitlessly among those who did not believe and were perhaps not predestined to life.

[8] At length, surveying the expanse of the forest itself, when he had come by exploring to the upper parts of the mountain which projected toward the East, He builds a new monastery on the mountain, he found a certain promontory, on which, in the manner of the former ones, he built dwellings, somewhat more ample in both number and size. In these buildings the devil, stirred to action, strove by many machinations to destroy them. One day the devil attacked a certain carpenter hired for wages, who was covering the wooden ceiling of the oratory with wooden planks on the inside, in the likeness of black men, and beat him most severely because he was doing work for the Religious. For when he had first begun to dwell in the wilderness, the devil persecuted him with such persistence the devil resisting in vain, that he was not allowed to rest even at night. Awakened by his cries, the Brothers would leap from their beds and spend the entire sleepless night with him in prayers and vigils. When the workshops of the monastery had been built, the man of God immediately moved there with the Brothers from the former place, and decreed that the place itself should be called Obazine, after the name of the forest, that is, a workshop of obedience. Then a certain venerable Legate, who had come to those parts, committed to Dom Stephen, by command, the office of Prior and the care of the souls subject to him. He is appointed Prior: And Peter himself, his companion, after his death shone with many miracles. From then on, having been made Prior, the man of God Stephen both lived himself and taught others to live with the same quality of life and character as before: the same observance of vigils and prayers, the same course of psalms by day and by night, the same silence everywhere he prescribes the highest rigor of life: was maintained by all. The custom of fasting and the measure of refreshment remained the same, except that they then abounded in a more plentiful supply of temporal goods than before. For the neighbors, seeing their true and proven religion and firm stability, brought so much that, unable to expend it all, it was almost the case that they would say: "Why does the people offer more than is necessary?" And yet the servants of God, not unmindful of their former poverty, devoted themselves to frugality and humility; and what was given was divided equally among them, so that no one might boast or murmur that he had more or less. No one presumed to break the fast except on Sunday, in summer as in winter, unless detained by youthful age or indeed by illness.

[9] This man was vigorous in discipline and very severe in correcting the faults of offenders: he sharply corrects offenders: for if anyone in church had raised his eyes even a little, or had slightly smiled, or had lightly dozed, or had exhibited any disorderly movement, immediately he received either a rod on the head or a palm on the face. The Brothers gathered daily for Chapter after Prime or Mass, in which, with the Prior presiding, after the reading or whatever things are customarily said there, the Order was immediately discussed and whatever was amiss was corrected. If anyone was to be beaten, as soon as he was stripped, the fiftieth Psalm was begun, so that he received individual blows at each verse. And if a greater fault required it, additional Psalms were added, so that he might be furrowed with more abundant beating. On the day of the Lord's Supper, which is full of mercy, pardon was sought by all with a general supplication, so that whatever they had committed through the cycle of the entire year might be loosed by this sacred and solemn indulgence. as he ordained should be done by all on the Lord's Supper: Then the venerable elder, wholly bathed in tears and bringing his sins before his own eyes, trusting in the mercy of God, would beg forgiveness from the Lord for himself and others, and would loose the bonds of sins in the word of God. Indeed, whenever he had beaten someone more severely because their faults demanded it, he immediately prepared himself to endure the same, and commanded himself to be scourged by one or by all — which he did so that he who judged others might not remain exempt from their affliction. Scarcely any day was passed over, he receives discipline from others: and especially in Lent, on which he did not receive a private discipline from someone. After Compline, when the Brothers were settled for sleep as usual, the man of God most often remained in the oratory, and throughout the whole night he diligently persisted in vigils and prayers with tears. When, however, having prayed for a long time, he was pressed by excessive cold, he spends the night in prayer, immediately rising, he did not cease bending his knees until his body was drenched with sweat; and then, having removed his cloak, he would repeat the same again, until at last, again exhausted by labor and wearied by the burden of vigils, he would either collapse or even fall asleep. Whence he was even found by the Brothers coming for vigils to have fallen asleep just as he had composed himself for prayer. he performs the lowliest tasks, Moreover, during the nighttime, if he found anything unclean that the Brothers not only shrank from carrying but even from touching, he would gather it in a basket and, placing it on his own shoulders, carry it far away. he labors strenuously. During the daytime hours, he often labored alone, often with the other Brothers, yet in such a way that scarcely two would attempt what he alone accomplished. On all days, but especially on feast days, both he and the Brothers devoted themselves to the praises of the Divine Office with such modulation that they seemed to imitate the manner of great monasteries.

CHAPTER III.

Visit to the Charterhouse. Entry into the Cistercian Order. Five monasteries built.

[10] Hearing, moreover, the fame of the Carthusian monks, whom the reputation of their religion at that time ennobled above all others, he undertook a journey to see them — gratifying indeed, but laborious for himself. On this journey he suffered many hardships of hunger and cold, since those places were cold, especially in winter, He goes on foot to the Charterhouse, and they were then full of snow. He himself, traveling on foot and sometimes with bare feet, carried nothing pertaining to food with him. wearing a coat of mail He was also then wearing the above-mentioned coat of mail, which imposed no small burden on him. While one day he was walking alone and last, it suddenly broke through the middle, as if it had been cut in a circle by someone, the lower part immediately falling to the ground. Distressed by this, he secretly called one of his companions who was privy to the matter, and with his help, by means of certain bindings, he reunited the coat of mail as best he could and refitted it to himself. And when they had proceeded a little, it broke apart and fell again, and again he tied it. But when it broke a third time, the man of God understood — the Brother also admonishing him — that it was not the will of God that he should carry it any longer. For before he had the coat of mail, it is reported that he wore iron rings next to the skin, which, having been broken now for the third time in a short period, he fitted this coat of mail to himself, which, however, besides its weight, was so rough that it not only pressed he converses with the Prior: but greatly lacerated the flesh. Arriving at the Charterhouse, they were received quite humanely by those Brothers. And so the man of God Stephen spoke quite familiarly with the Prior of the place, and having received counsel from the Prior, he returned to his own home. Having returned from the Charterhouse, the man of God, as the Brothers had increased, resolved to enlarge the dwellings of the monastery as well, which were small. he builds a church, And beginning first with the sanctuary, he began to build a church in honor of the holy Mother of God, Mary, after the model of the Carthusian church. He also built a monastery of nuns not far from the monastery of Obazine, but separated by about three stadia, in which he established a community of women to be gathered together, so that the Church of Obazine might rejoice in serving God at all times in both sexes. and a monastery for women: This monastery, moreover, was so constructed that its entrance would never be open to anyone, except when someone was admitted, or when one was sent out after she had died. In necessary things, they were so sufficiently provided for by the Brothers of the greater monastery that there was no need for them to ask for anything. Then nobles and commoners, men and women alike, began to flock from every quarter to the man of God, and to submit their gentle necks to the sweet yoke of Christ.

[11] Therefore, in the year from the Incarnation of the Lord 1142, on the Sunday before Easter which we call Palm Sunday, the true worshiper of God, Dom Stephen, was made a monk by a certain Abbot who had come with the Bishop of Limoges to Obazine, and was immediately promoted and elevated by the same Bishop to the rank of Abbot. he becomes a monk and Abbot, Now himself an Abbot and leader of monks, he blessed as monks all the Clerics he had, and ordained that the rest should remain in their former habit. The monks, therefore, having been made from hermits, were daily formed and instructed by new laws and new institutions, trained according to the direction of the monks of Dalon, he builds two monasteries: who taught them, and instructed and educated them in regular precepts. Then Abbot Stephen began to build two monasteries, one in the territory of Limoges, the other in the territory of Auvergne. When these were properly established, he immediately directed companies of monks there, having appointed excellent Fathers over them.

[12] During the same period, upon the death of the Supreme Pontiff in the city of Rome, the reverend man adorned with all virtues, Eugenius, was installed on the Apostolic See. He had been a monk of Clairvaux, and had been sent as Abbot to the Roman regions by Saint Bernard, whence he was afterward chosen and made Pope of the city of Rome. In the second year of his Pontificate he came to France, he deals at Citeaux with Pope Eugenius III, and celebrated a council at Reims. Then the memorable Father Stephen, as he had long desired, came to Citeaux with certain Brothers, and there found the aforesaid Pope. For he had been desirous for a long time to acquire fellowship with that holy Order and to submit all things pertaining to himself to its authority. At that time the Cistercians were governed by an Abbot named Raynard, a noble and distinguished man, incomparable in the fervor of religion, who stood preeminent over all the Abbots under his authority, who numbered three hundred and more. Therefore, when Blessed Stephen had come to Citeaux, he approached the said Pope and disclosed to the Apostolic ears what he bore in mind, earnestly requesting that his desire be brought to fulfillment by papal authority. Then the Pope commanded Dom Raynard to come to him, he is received among the Cistercians. and the Father of all commended the holy man to him, as a father does a son, and ordered him to lead him into the assembly of Abbots and to associate him with the holy Order. Raynard, gratefully receiving him from the hand of the Pope, introduced him into the chapter, and with joyful speech, before all the Abbots, having set forth the commands of the Lord Pope and having declared his petitions — with Stephen himself also humbly requesting in person — he was unanimously received by all the Abbots into the fellowship of the Order and specially assigned to the house of Citeaux; inasmuch as they deferred in this no less to his religious life than to the Apostolic command — provided, however, that those holy women should always remain in the Order.

[13] Under such auspices, having received the Order, our merchant returned joyfully to his own home, bringing with him excellent Masters whom the Cistercian Father had kindly granted him for teaching the Order. Of these, two were monks and Priests, he is vexed that meat is granted to the sick: two were laymen, each properly trained in their own skill, and the fifth, after the others returned home when the term of their teaching was completed, remained at Obazine until his death. But when many things were ordered to be changed through their teaching, this certainly seemed most vexing: that the use of meat was also allowed and introduced for the sick, which had until then remained unknown to the Brothers. This the holy man bore most grievously, to such an extent that he himself said, deeply moved, that they had introduced a slaughterhouse into the house of God, when he saw some animal slaughtered on account of the sick — but he kept silent on account of the Masters themselves. One day, going around the workshops, he found meat hidden between two vessels, which he immediately ordered to be thrown into the latrine. After this he resolved to establish two other monasteries in places previously built, one in the diocese of Cahors, the other in the territory of Saintes. When these were properly established, he directed capable Pastors there with a complement of Brothers, he founds two other monasteries: who would govern the places entrusted to them with the title of Abbey. The first of these was named Gerald, who happily governed the house of Obazine after him; with whom he had built many places, and who now rests happily with him as his inseparable companion. The next was named Robert, who also presided over our teaching. He obtained the Abbey which was situated in the diocese of Saintes, which he had also previously administered for a long time without the title of Abbot. Meanwhile, as the Brothers at Obazine increased from day to day and the small dwellings of their former habitation could not contain them, after many deliberations the holy man built a great basilica in the upper part of the monastery, and enlarged the dwellings and adequately prepared the places of habitation.

CHAPTER IV.

Various miracles performed. Pious death and burial.

[14] When the man of God was pressed by the great solicitude for many, for whom daily provisions were prepared with enormous effort, In order to give alms, nevertheless his greatest care was for the poor. Once a Brother, the Procurator of that same house, came to him saying that he had nothing to set before the Brothers or to distribute to the poor. The holy man said nothing about the Brothers, but concerning the poor he commanded: "Go — you have no bread; slaughter the animals and give them to the poor." That man went to do as he had commanded, but because a small amount of grain had remained in the chest, which could scarcely suffice for the Brothers alone for three days, he immediately decided to spend that and afterward to provide meat for the poor. And behold, while the exhaustion of that grain was expected daily, grain divinely increased: meanwhile, with God providing and the holy man's faith cooperating, it increased so that until the time of harvest, which was far off, both the Brothers and the poor had sufficient bread from it, as the circumstances of the time permitted. And so it happened that the animals remained unharmed, and from a small amount of grain, many people had sufficient food for a long time.

One day the Cellarer came to him and with a sad face said to him: "The Brothers will have nothing to eat today, for the hour of the meal presses, and we have no bread to set before the Brothers for their refreshment." in a time of need, bread is delivered. Then he, as was his custom, with eyes and hands raised to heaven, sighed deeply, and then, turning to the doubting Brother, said to him: "Therefore, Brother, hasten to prepare the tables as usual." And behold, while the Brothers were singing in the church, suddenly pack animals laden with bread appeared, which faithful men, inspired by God, had sent from a nearby town for the refreshment of the Brothers, from which the Brothers were abundantly fed.

[15] It is also reported that something similar happened at the monastery of Gros-Bois. One day the Cellarer came to the Abbot of that place saying: as also happened to his disciple the Abbot: "We have no bread except three loaves." The Abbot, who had been one of the disciples of Blessed Stephen, ordered three pounds of bread to be set aside in the portions for the deceased, as was customary, and also ordered the bell to be rung after the hour and side dishes to be distributed through the tables in place of bread. And while they were singing the Hour that was then due in the church, the Prince of that land and founder of that place unexpectedly arrived. Entering the refectory, to which the divine power had then led him, when he saw that only side dishes without bread had been set out, he hastened out and directed both his own horses and those of his retainers who had come with him to the nearest town, and ordered all the bread for sale to be seized or bought at a price and brought to the monastery. When the Brothers entered the refectory after the Hour and prepared to eat, suddenly, while they were eating, unexpected bread entered in full baskets, which fed them sufficiently that day and the next.

[16] When a severe famine was violently ravaging the land all around, for the anniversary celebration of this Saint — as they are accustomed to do each year — such a great multitude of the poor gathered at the anniversary celebration that they were estimated by the lay people who had come at fifteen thousand; but since others estimated them at fewer, all declared ten thousand to be the true number. For there was given to each, as is always done, one pound or half a round loaf of bread and the customary measure of beans with wine. As is always done on that day to this very day or time, an equal measure to both greater and lesser, bread, beans, and wine to be distributed to the poor so that women receive as many portions as children they have brought, even those in cradles. But the soldiers and many others, seeing such a great multitude of

the poor and considering the scarcity of bread, said that the bread could not suffice even for a tenth part of them. Therefore they gave counsel that the bread should be broken into tiny pieces, so that each one might receive some small portion from it. But they were not heeded in this; on the contrary, trusting in the name of God and in the power of the Saint, having implored his aid, they began to divide first the bread, then the beans, and afterward the wine. And when the customary measure had been distributed to all, from the first to the last, from the greatest to the least, before the setting of the sun, they are multiplied. when the poor rose up, such a great cry arose of those praising God for the abundance and blessing the holy Father that the very earth seemed to be shaken by their outcry. For they wept then more from joy and from such a great miracle — because if the distribution itself had been prolonged until morning, the bread would never have run out so long as the poor did not cease. This, moreover, has been proven to have occurred many times on the day of this Saint and on many other days: that the bread to be distributed to the poor, the less it had been estimated at, the more it superabounded.

[17] Who could estimate how holy, arduous, and strict the life of this Saint was? But it would take long to narrate with how many miracles he shone. At last, this Saint Stephen, having been asked, went to visit a certain sick Archpriest, and returning from there, immediately incurred bodily illness. sick with fever, For a fever had invaded his limbs, exhausted by fasting, which the labor of the body and the chill of cold had gradually infused into his inmost marrow. Afterward, as the disease grew worse, the holy man began to be more gravely afflicted. And while he was pressed by the violence of the fevers, he rejoiced indeed that he was passing to the desired good things, but grieved that he was leaving his own people desolate and as if orphaned. On account of which, with eyes and hands stretched toward heaven, he prays for his own, he beseeched the Lord to always illuminate and protect the place entrusted to him, and to be a kind Shepherd to the sheep which He had gathered through him until then, and to govern them by His own providence. All the Brothers stood by him, especially those who had come from his monastery, weeping inconsolably and saying: "Father, why do you abandon us, or to whom do you leave us desolate?" For he also told them that he would be more effective for them after death, and would provide all necessities more diligently, if only they would obtain by assiduous prayers that he might enjoy eternal rest. and promises his protection from beyond death: For he then promised them this, which we have never read that anyone has dared to promise: namely, that if only they prayed to the Lord for him enough that he himself might deserve to be saved, he would obtain from the Lord eternal salvation for all — especially those dying within the monastery — trusting in His mercy. Wherefore he admonished them by way of command that no one should ever in any way depart from the habitation of the monastery. But because the time for tonsuring had passed, and he had not been permitted to be shaved because of his illness, with death now pressing upon him, he commanded himself to be shaved without delay, so that he might further torment his sick body, he orders himself to be shaved: and, about to migrate immediately to the Lord, might enter new and crowned.

[18] And when he was now more evidently approaching death, at his own request he was anointed with holy Oil and fortified with the reception of holy Communion. Then, after a short while, the board was struck, he is fortified with the last sacraments, and all gathered from every direction and began to say the Litanies with great weeping and to perform them with him, which he caused to be repeated more frequently, and, dying, sang them with them as best he could. And when he had now entirely failed, a certain person, having grasped his right hand, was signing the monastery and all the Brothers, he dies with Stephen himself striving as much as he could and barely uttering the words of blessing in a thin voice with his freezing lips. And thus, while blessing and praying, that holy soul was released from the flesh. Therefore the venerable Father Stephen migrated to the Lord, while the heavens rejoiced and the earth wept — the former for the citizen received, the latter for the shepherd lost. He passed, moreover, on the eighth day before the Ides of March, around the middle of the night that preceded March 8 in the year 1159 the Lord's Day, in the year from the Incarnation of the Lord 1159. His body, composed according to custom and dressed in priestly vestments, was watched over in the church for whatever of the night remained. In the morning, after the Masses had been said according to custom, they immediately took up the remains of the holy body and carried them with singing and great honor to the monastery of Obazine. And so, with the sepulcher prepared, on the fourth day of the week, the second Wednesday of Lent, after a general Mass was said and a solemn absolution performed by all the Abbots who had gathered from diverse regions and Orders, the body of the blessed man was carried into the chapter house to be entombed, he is buried in the Chapter House. and was honorably placed in a stone sarcophagus, where very many benefits are conferred upon many, through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, God, through all ages of ages. Amen.

c. Of Obazine.

CHAPTER V.

Miracles after death.

[19] A certain knight, powerful in the world, after the passing of the holy man, came to the monastery of Obazine; and there, seized by a certain illness, he died after two months. And because he had been lord of many lands, he had waged many battles and wars in defending them and had committed many evils. He did, however, greatly love the blessed man and all the Brothers, A certain knight at Obazine and had enlarged their holdings in his domain; on account of which he was brought to a good end. On the very night he died, a certain Priest from his territory, though he was entirely unaware of what was happening to him — for he was far away — was suddenly caught up in ecstasy and saw him being led captive by demons. In the place through which he was being led, there was on one side a splendid and very lofty wall, seen by someone in ecstasy whose end was not visible, having in its middle a gate through which the sweetest voices of those chanting poured forth. And when they had drawn near to it, he began to beg those who were dragging him to release him a little, so that he might hear the honeyed voices. When he had in no way obtained this, against the assaults of demons suddenly, by divine will, he was torn from them and fled to the aforesaid gate, and found it open. Seeing the holy Mother of God standing within with the Saints, he began, prostrate on the ground, to beseech her humbly to have pity on him and to free him from the captivity of the demons by her clemency. She answered him: before the Mother of God "O man, I cannot help you, because you invaded, despoiled, and violated many churches of my Son and of mine, and you committed many murders of men, and did many other evil things." he is defended by Blessed Stephen. Then Dom Stephen, who was standing to one side, having thrown himself at her knees, prayed to her saying: "Lady, did you not promise me that you would bring into the joy of your Son all who should die in my house?" To this she answered with a kind and joyful countenance: "Know for certain, dearest one, that whatever I have promised you, I shall fulfill without any ambiguity."

[20] A certain young and robust Brother was in charge of the ox-plows, a hernia is cured. who, either from lifting heavy loads or from some other cause, incurred a rupture. Frequently prostrating himself at the tomb of the holy Father Stephen, he prayed to recover his health. The holy man appeared to him and he was made entirely well, as if he had never suffered anything of the sort.

[21] Certain nuns were dying; their attendants, growing drowsy, fell asleep. Around the middle of the night, the holy man appeared to one of them in the dormitory and commanded her to rise. to nuns who were dying When she lingered drowsily, he began to pull away the bedclothes and said to her: "Rise quickly and light a candle and spread ashes, because that Sister is about to die immediately." She quickly rose in alarm and said, because it was dark: "And how can I light a candle, Lord, since the dormitory lamp has just been extinguished?" To this he replied: "Go to the kitchen, and there you will find one." another is twice awakened by Blessed Stephen appearing: She went, and from a small spark, without any blowing, she kindled a light and found that Sister laboring in her last moments, and her attendants sleeping around her. Having awakened them, she spread ashes, struck the board, and the Sister breathed her last. And when she too wished to fall asleep, suddenly the holy man said: "Rise immediately, because that other Sister is now dying." At these words, immediately the sound of the board resounded, and that Sister, with the rest gathered and praying, passed away in peace.

[22] He compels certain Sisters who were lingering rather negligently in the infirmary to go to church, especially when they ought to receive the holy mysteries. And if they cannot rise from bed, others are taught or healed by his appearing. he teaches how and by what means they might be carried there. He wished to leave them no excuse for anyone to come to them, even at the point of death, so that you may recognize that the care he had for them while living, he did not lay down after death. Certain ones also, afflicted with the most grievous pains from excessive weakness, he frequently cured by appearing to them or by touching them.

[23] A certain Sister, while walking through the middle of the house, had a piece of timber fall upon her from above, which greatly crushed her leg. From this fall she fell to the ground, and when she was almost beside herself, healed from an injury caused by a fall: the Sisters ran up and carried her to the infirmary. After she came to herself, she began to utter immense cries and frequently invoked Dom Stephen to come to her aid. Around the middle of the night, Father Stephen was immediately present, followed by a young man wearing a monk's habit. And when, having seized her leg which was suffering, he had begun to pull it, she began to cry out from the pain and awakened the sleeping Sisters. But immediately she was made entirely well. At dawn, having called the Sisters together, she related how and in what manner she was healed.

[24] Another Sister despised a certain sick and humble Sister, and that night her foot and hand withered. On the following day, as best she could, with one hand and one foot she dragged herself along the ground, one who despised another is punished with withering of hand and foot; so that the Sisters could scarcely carry her to the infirmary. Then, having been left alone, groaning, she invoked the holy Father Stephen to come to her aid. Immediately the holy Father was present to her, watching and praying, and looking at her with a stern face, he said: "It has rightly happened to you, wretched woman, as you deserved. For know that this has befallen you because yesterday you despised that Sister who was begging you, and you refused to help her. Moreover, you bound yourself with a most wicked curse. And unless we had

intervened for you, you would indeed not suffer such things, but would die a sudden death. But it is fitting for you to know that as long as you live, you will never be free from this affliction. Wherefore she is rebuked by the appearing of Blessed Stephen: tell the other Sisters on our behalf that, admonished by your example, they should not despise sick Sisters, but should serve them according to their ability, lest something worse befall them." Saying this, he was taken from her sight. When morning came, as the Sisters came to visit the sick woman and tried to console her and to promise her remedies for health, she answered: "It shall by no means be as you say, for it has been otherwise disposed by God." Then she related to them how she had seen Dom Stephen that night, and what he had said to her, and what he had commanded her to tell the others. Let all other nuns hear this.

[25] At a certain time of famine during the life of Saint Stephen, it happened at Obazine that the grain, estimated to suffice for scarcely one week, lasted for two months, grain divinely increased ceases to grow when it is measured. and the grain that was being carried from the cellar to the monastery was so increased and endured that the Brothers marveled. They questioned the Brother who was carrying it, asking how the grain had lasted so long. He said: "From the time I began to carry it, I have been unable to find any diminution in it." Wherefore he was persuaded by some to measure the grain. He measured it, and the good Giver, offended by this, secretly ceased to increase it, and that grain ran out.

APPENDIX FROM THE LONGER ACTS

Concerning the death, translation, and miracles of Blessed Stephen.

Stephen, Abbot of Obazine in France, of the Cistercian Order (Blessed)

BHL Number: 7916

[1] When the Blessed man was about to depart from this world, one of the Abbeys mentioned above had been deprived of its own Pastor for a long time. Wishing to visit it He goes to a certain Abbey for the election of an Abbot, in order to establish it lawfully — although he did not ignore that the end of his days was imminent — as the solemn fasts were approaching, when ashes are customarily given, he set out there with certain Abbots. And when they were now deliberating about the matter for which they had come, and the monks could not agree among themselves to take an Abbot from those who were present, word was sent back to the monastery that the Prior and certain others suitable for this purpose should be brought from there. Meanwhile Dom Stephen, having been asked, went to visit the Archpriest of that region, who was ill. Returning from there, he immediately incurred bodily illness. For a fever had invaded his limbs, exhausted by fasting, sick, he commits matters to be carried out by another: which the labor of the body and the chill of cold had gradually infused into his inmost marrow. And when on the morrow the election was being prepared — for those for whom he had sent had now arrived — and he himself was seized by a serious ailment all night long, he nevertheless did not think such a necessary task should be deferred, lest perhaps, with him dying, it should either be entirely frustrated or carried out more negligently. But because he could not be present at their Chapter, he committed this arrangement to a certain Abbot who stood above the others in authority, so that the one whom he himself had already chosen with the counsel of the Brothers should be established as Pastor there by that same Abbot. This was immediately fulfilled without any delay or contradiction.

[2] From then on, as the disease grew worse, the holy man began to be more gravely afflicted. On account of this, he was transferred from the common house to a more private cell. When the fame of his illness had also spread everywhere, with messengers running about, after it reached the ears of the Obazinians, all were deeply afflicted and disturbed beyond what could be believed. For how could that most holy flock, however saintly, not be disturbed when such a great Father was dying — since it is written: "I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered" Matt. 26? he consoles the Obazinians who come, For many now, without seeking permission, were hastening or rather streaming to him in rivalry, intending to receive at least a final blessing if they could do nothing else at that time. He, as a loving Father, received them kindly, as devoted sons, and, blessing each one, cherished them with the most tender touch. The others, however, who had remained behind, resounded with laments and wailing; and as if the end of the world were at hand, nearly all abandoned their work and occupied themselves solely with weeping. You would have seen all corners filled with groaning, sighs joined to sighs, and the desolation of the entire place bewailed by all in common lamentation.

[3] When, therefore, the same Blessed man was more fiercely pressed by the violence of the fevers, he rejoiced indeed that he was passing to the desired good things, but grieved that he was leaving his own people desolate and as if orphaned. On account of which, with eyes and hands stretched toward heaven, he beseeched God to always illuminate and protect the place entrusted to him, and to be a kind shepherd to the sheep which He had gathered through him until then, and to govern them by His own providence. All the Brothers stood by him, especially those who had come from his monastery, weeping inconsolably and saying: "Why do you abandon us, Father? Or to whom do you leave us desolate? Our poverty was enough for us, he asks for their prayers, that we should count as riches the fact that we saw you as the Shepherd and Governor of our souls. And now, after you, what shall we do, or to whom shall we flee in our tribulation?" He, moreover, as much as he could, consoled and instructed them, commanding them always to fear God, and He Himself would deliver them from every evil. For he also told them that he would be more present to them after death, and would provide all necessities more diligently, if only they would obtain by assiduous prayers that he himself might enjoy eternal rest. he commends the observance of the statutes: And when they begged him to direct at least final commands to the Brothers at Obazine, whom he was leaving orphaned, he commanded them nothing else except that they should firmly keep the statutes of the holy Order which they had received, and should not abandon the observance of holy poverty and humility. They should also preserve obedience and the stricture of discipline in every way, and should always pray to the Lord for him. For he then promised them this, which we have never read that anyone has dared to promise: namely, that if only they prayed to God for him enough that he himself might deserve to be saved, he would obtain from the Lord eternal salvation for all — he promises prayers for their salvation: especially those dying within the monastery — trusting in His mercy. Wherefore he admonished them by way of command that no one should ever in any way depart from the habitation of the monastery.

[4] There was no end to those visiting the servant of God lying in his infirmity; yet only religious persons or those drawn by devotion were admitted. Indeed, a great many brought candles to benefit his holy funeral; and all mourned him no differently than as the guardian and provider of the entire country. And because the time for tonsuring had passed, he wishes his hair to be shaved, which was preserved as relics. and he had not been permitted to be shaved because of his illness, with death now pressing upon him, he commanded himself to be shaved without delay, so that he might further torment his sick body, and, about to migrate entirely to God, might arrive new and crowned. This is not doubted to have been done by divine will, so that we might at least have relics from his hair; for all was diligently collected and even more diligently preserved, and afterward proved beneficial against many infirmities. And when he was now more evidently approaching death, at his own request he was anointed with holy Oil and fortified with the protection of holy Communion. Then, after a short while, when the board was struck, all gathered from every direction and began to say the Litanies with great weeping before him, which he caused to be repeated more frequently; and, dying, he sang them with them as best he could. And when he had now entirely failed, a certain person, having grasped his right hand, was signing the monastery and all the Brothers, with Stephen himself he dies on March 8 in the year 1259. striving as much as he could toward this and barely uttering the words of blessing with his freezing lips. And thus, while blessing and praying, that holy soul was released from the flesh. Therefore the venerable Father Stephen migrated to the Lord, while the heavens rejoiced and the earth wept. He passed, moreover, on the eighth day before the Ides of March, around the middle of the night that preceded the Lord's Day, in the year from the Incarnation of the Lord 1159.

[5] His body, composed according to custom and dressed in priestly vestments, was watched over in the church for whatever of the night remained, with all the Brothers, The funeral is conducted with enormous solemnity: together with certain Abbots who had gathered, devoutly standing by, and solemnly keeping vigil before him with a great display of candles. In the morning, after the Masses had been said according to custom, they immediately took up the remains of the holy body and departed from the monastery with fitting honor and great... — Abbots, monks, and the other Brothers going before and following after, with a very great multitude of Clerics as well as lay people, who rejoiced at having gathered from diverse places for the obsequies of so great a Father. And when they had proceeded a little, immediately all the shepherds of that region, boys and girls alike, leaving their flocks, ran with the utmost haste to the funeral of the Saint; and thrusting themselves under the bier, they quickly passed to the other side. And when they had done this, as if to be sanctified again, they returned by the same passage and hastened along for a while with the walking crowds. Seeing this, the others, admonished by the example of the children, pushed each other in rivalry, passed under the bier of the Saint, and returned again. Yet they could not have done this in vain and without the reward of their faith: for many, passing under it in this way, were freed from various infirmities. various sick persons are healed: An innumerable populace of both sexes converged from every side throughout that entire journey for so glorious a spectacle. Through all the churches and monasteries through which they were to pass, all the bells immediately resounded, with such sudden clamor that they seemed to be struck not by human hand but moved by divine power. Priests with stoles, Clerics in white vestments, monks fittingly adorned, with Crosses and thuribles, proceeded far out to meet the holy body. And there was no possibility of performing the absolution or any office at all; so great was the clanging of bells and the concourse of the weeping crowds. For the whole land resounded with lamentations.

[6] Many also voluntarily and deliberately removed their shoes, and so, going over rocks and the sharpest stones with the Saint, they did not return without their cross. an incurable disease removed, A distinguished matron, the Lady of that land, although she was pressed by great and incurable diseases in the more private parts of her body, was healed by touching the bier, and remained in the soundest health until the end of her life. Furthermore, they had only one cask of wine, of the kind that a donkey usually carries, a pair of them. When this was poured into a vessel, wine multiplied. it prevailed so greatly by the power of the Saint that it sufficiently served as drink for five hundred men and more throughout the entire night, and a great deal remained over on the next day.

[7] The body, indeed, was not placed in the Brothers' quarters, but in a very large house that was available outside, so that more people might be received vigils were spent amid lights and choirs of those chanting: and devout women would not be barred from entering. This house,

although it was entirely of wood and covered with straw, and below — for the honor of the Saint and the comfort of those arriving — was strewn with the same straw up to the knees, it contained such a great multitude of burning candles that to those looking from outside it appeared like a burning bush within. What I consider more wonderful than all other wonders is that amid such an abundance of straw and burning candles, among so many men sleeping and half-awake, the fire could do no harm. For those who were awake were occupied with sacred vigils around the holy body; the rest around them were either half-awake or completely asleep. Then, when night was already beginning, Clerics clad in white — many in silk copes — solemnly performed the first vigils. When these were finished, the others who had remained and those who had then gathered from various places continued, so that throughout the whole night, with alternating vigils, the sacred watches did not cease; so that by the shifts of chanting Clerics as well as by the splendor of gleaming lamps, the night itself might assume the brightness and dignity of day, as it is written: "For darkness shall not be dark to you, and the night shall be illuminated as the day." Ps. 138

[8] In the morning, having taken up the holy body, they hastened as quickly as possible to the monastery of Obazine. At the monastery of Tulle, however, it was being awaited, The body honored by the people of Tulle along the way: because the Abbot of that place and the monks had obtained that it should be placed in their church for a time. And when they had drawn near to that place, immediately, with the bells sounding, all the monks, solemnly vested, with Crosses and incense, and with all the people, processed far out to meet the holy body. They had agreed, however, as later became clear, to detain it by force in their church or to take something from his body as relics. When the Brothers perceived this, they did not allow it to be brought into their church; but immediately taking it up after the absolution had been performed, they raised it onto their shoulders and, turning back, returned by the road they had come.

[9] At Obazine, the passing of the blessed man was not known until the second day of the week was dawning. Wherefore, having immediately said Mass after Prime, all from the least to the greatest, with the Cross going before, processed with weeping and wailing to meet the holy Body, going as far as two miles out, received by the Obazinians who came to meet it: chanting Psalms throughout the entire journey, as best they could in such a crisis. For they had determined not to return except with the funeral of the Saint. And although certain Brothers who were going ahead before him sought to turn them back, saying that he would scarcely arrive at last by evening, they were never able to call them back from the journey they had begun. And when, already weary, they had come to the level ground of a certain promontory, suddenly raising their eyes, they saw the funeral procession of the Saint approaching with a great throng of people and hastening toward them as quickly as possible. A multitude of men had arrived there with innumerable others of both sexes and every age, very many of whom had brought new candles and were awaiting the arrival of the Saint with the monks and with all the people, with lights burning. And behold, when he appeared, when he was at hand, when he could be touched, suddenly such a great cry arose that it seemed not only the earth but also the heavens were somewhat moved. I confess that I have never seen or heard such a great and wonderful outcry, such great mourning, such a clamor, such an outpouring of tears all at once.

[10] Having resumed their journey (for all the laments had ceased), they hastened to Obazine. When they had arrived there, the Venerable Lord Gerald the Abbot, mentioned far above, who had then come, brought to Obazine, with the few who had remained and with many others who had gathered, was waiting outside at the new monastery, vested in sacred vestments. Seeing, however, that the bier was at hand and the Saint was lying upon it, when he was preparing to absolve him, he suddenly collapsed and fell upon the bier as if lifeless. Then the mourning of all was renewed, and in the heights voices, cries, and wailing resounded. For the human soul has this quality, that although it may be sated with grief and tears, after it has seen others weeping, it cannot restrain its emotion — tears not ceasing where the causes of tears do not cease. and laid in the church for two days. At last the Abbot, having come to himself, was scarcely able to utter the words of absolution, and he absolved the Blessed man as circumstances allowed. Then he was carried with veneration to the church and kept with unceasing vigils for two days.

[11] And so, with the sepulcher prepared, on the fourth day of the week, the second week of Lent, he is buried on March 11: after a general Mass was said and a solemn absolution performed by all the Abbots who had gathered from diverse regions and Orders, the body of the blessed man was carried into the Chapter House to be entombed, and placed in a stone sarcophagus. Therefore, when the body of the blessed man had been entombed, the instruments of the funeral were immediately seized and cut into small pieces, with each person snatching parts for themselves as best they could and contending stubbornly among themselves for them. instruments seized as relics: For the bier itself was cut apart with saws and hewn with iron tools into tiny pieces and carried off; so that they even tied the very shavings falling from the saw in small cloths and carried them away. So great was the faith and devotion of the people that they considered nothing that had touched the body of the Saint to be devoid of blessings. When these things had been accomplished, all the people departed; but the monks, gathered around the tomb, remained there chanting Psalms until vespers. the sepulcher adorned with extraordinary worship. But burning candles also remained there throughout that whole day and night; indeed, even to this present day, on every night, neither the light of oil, nor of wax, nor of both together is ever lacking there. None of these things is supplied from the monastery; all is provided from outside, both by those who devoutly and frequently come to the tomb and by those who receive many healings there. Many who are absent are also healed through the invocation of his name, sending their candles there or bringing them in person, both before their healing and afterward.

[12] When a certain lay Brother was held by excessive sadness after his death, being lulled to sleep by that very sadness, the blessed man stood before him in a vision, saying to him: Blessed Stephen, appearing, promises his protection of Obazine: "What is the matter, Brother, that you are weighed down with such grief?" To this he answered: "We are sorrowful, Lord, and deeply afflicted because you wished to abandon us so soon, when you could still live long for us and govern the monastery prosperously and happily." To whom the Saint replied: "Do I not seem to you to be the Abbot, just as you were always accustomed to see me?" To this the Brother said: "Even if you are our Abbot, why do we now see another in your seat?" Then the Saint, with a joyful countenance and as if smiling, answered him thus: "I have not abandoned you, nor do I abandon you. I remain with you always and will always remain."

[13] Another Brother, a layman indeed but a simple and innocent man, loved the holy man with singular affection and was himself uniquely loved by him. When he rose before the others for the night vigils on a certain Lord's Day, he heard the voices of those chanting and as it were of monks making a procession, among whom the voice of the man of God, again he is heard among those chanting: as if directing that procession, stood out more clearly and robustly. Hearing this, he hastened to the church, so that from there he might more conveniently hear the voices of those chanting and, if possible, see the man of God standing in his seat. But when he had entered, the voices of the chanters fell silent and could no longer be heard. Whence it is clear, both from the former vision and from this certain hearing, that the man of God is never absent from his house.

[14] Dom Robert, then Abbot of Frenada, who was the third after Stephen's appointment to preside over our monastery, when, after the burial of that most holy Father, he was sitting at table in the refectory with the Brothers, joyfully received in heaven. as usually happens in such an event, overcome by weariness and grief, he fell asleep for a little while. Suddenly two Brothers appeared to him who had died some years before — of whom one was a Priest, the other a Deacon, both known to have been holy and religious in their lifetime. When they asked with a cheerful countenance for the causes of his sadness, and he tearfully related the death of the holy man and their common bereavement, they said to him: "Know, Lord, that as great as is the sadness among you because of his departure, so great is the joy everywhere among us because of his presence." Having said this, he awoke and could see them no more.

[15] A certain young and robust Brother was in charge of the ox-plows, who, either from some other cause, incurred a rupture. And when the mass itself protruded over his groin and grew larger from day to day, the Brother began to be burdened in walking and to waste away in spirit, since he trembled to reveal the matter and yet could not dissimulate because of the magnitude of the affliction. And because such an ailment cannot be cured without incision, A hernia removed by his appearing twice: which was formerly forbidden in the Cistercian Order, he was all the more anxious because both the infirmity burdened him and there was no hope of healing. Therefore, destitute of human aid, he had recourse to divine assistance, and assiduously besought the holy Father Stephen, frequently prostrating himself at his tomb, to come to his aid with a saving remedy while he was in such great affliction. One night, therefore, the holy man appeared to him and, as if unaware, began to inquire why he was wearying him with so many cries or for what reason he remained so sorrowful. When the Brother had set forth to him all the trouble of his affliction, he received this consolation from him: "Do not, my Son, be excessively sorrowful on account of this ailment; for it is near at hand that you will be cured by God." Awakening, however, the Brother found that no remedy at all had come to him; yet because he had been worthy to see the man of God, he rejoiced not a little at this consolation from him. After not much time, however, he appeared to him again in the same manner as before, inquiring of him how he was. He gave thanks indeed for his visit, but nevertheless replied that he had still been helped in nothing. Then the Saint, having compressed the protruding tumor with a healing touch and as it were pressed it back into itself, healed him so perfectly that it never appeared again on his body, and said to him: "Rise, and be idle no longer, but strive to fulfill diligently the work assigned to you." At this voice, he immediately awoke, got up, and, touching the place of the infirmity, found himself outwardly so smoothed and inwardly so solidified, as if he had never suffered anything of the sort.

[16] A certain head of a household loved the man of God with familiar affection and was loved with no less affection by him and the Brothers on account of his faithful devotion. After his passing, he was captured by wicked men, bound in chains and fetters, and, because of the many sums of money he was believed to possess, was kept under strict custody. a captive freed from prison: When this was reported to the Brothers, they were deeply afflicted and began, both personally and through friends, to ask those who held the prisoner to release their confrere, whom they had unjustly captured, upon receiving satisfaction from him. And they could accomplish nothing with them, but those men became harsher because of it. The captive, however, seeing that he could be helped by no man, approached his former friend — now indeed his patron — Stephen, not with his feet but with prayers, invoking him with many groans to free him by his prayers, if he had any power with God. Then, overcome by much weariness and sorrow, falling asleep, he saw the same Saint standing beside him, as if rebuking him and saying: "Why do you sit here, when the tasks of your house are being neglected and your family property is going to ruin?" To this he answered: "Do you not see, Lord, how strictly I am held here, bound with fetters, and cannot break free?" To whom the Saint, repeating his words again: "Go safely, with no hesitation, for those chains which you fear will not harm you." At this voice he immediately awoke. And when he tried to raise himself, all the chains suddenly fell from his hands and feet, so that when he attempted to rise, he fell from astonishment — for his legs had been mangled by the fetters. But afterward, rising, he debated within himself what to do, since he greatly feared to go out, because guards were watching on every side, and those who had captured him all stood outside in public. Yet the faith of his patron prevailed, so that he returned freely through the midst of the guards and his captors — since there was no other way out — to his own home, without any person asking where he was going, much less detaining him.

[17] A certain man came to the sepulcher of the Saint, giving thanks and rendering vows for his liberation. likewise five others. Having made his prayer and placed a candle, when he had gone out from the place, he was asked who or whence he was, or for what reason he had sought the tomb of the Saint. He said: "We were captured, I and four others, in a certain castle, with the feet of each of us most tightly fastened together in a single beam. In that dungeon, when we had tasted absolutely nothing of food or drink for four days, constrained at once by hunger and pain, I began to pray to this holy Father, of whom I had heard much, with the deepest groaning of my heart, that he might free us from our bonds by his merits and prayers. And while I was silently turning these things over within myself, as if placed in ecstasy, neither fully awake nor perfectly asleep, I saw a most reverend person in religious habit entering the prison, with a certain young monk. When he had asked me how I was, or what I so earnestly sought from him, I said to him: 'Lord, you see in what great affliction and calamity we are held. Wherefore we beg that, if you can do anything, you help us, having pity on us.' Then he said: 'If, then, you wish to be freed with your companions, seize the wooden peg by which the stocks are held tight, and it will immediately come loose. Then rise at once and go out with them, and proceed wherever you can find safety.' At this voice I immediately awoke, and he vanished from my eyes. And immediately seizing the peg, I drew it out with a light motion. At once that beam was loosened, as if it had never been fastened. Rising, moreover, I secretly awakened my companions, warning them to rise cautiously lest anyone might awaken — for it was about midnight. And we feared no less, indeed more, when freed than when previously bound, because the guards were sleeping inside before the door, and we could not pass except through them; and the door itself was so constructed by design that it could not be opened without a great crash. At last, strengthening our courage with confidence in the faith of him who had already freed us, we both passed through the guards and, having opened the door, went out, with no one hearing or perceiving. And thus, spending the rest of the night's span in traveling, we arrived at a place where we were saved."

ON BLESSED JOHN OF GOD, FOUNDER OF THE ORDER OF HOSPITALITY, AT GRANADA IN SPAIN.

YEAR 1550.

Preliminary Commentary.

John of God, Founder of the Order of Hospitality at Granada in Spain (Blessed)

Section I. The prosperous beginnings of the Order inaugurated by John of God.

[1] The year of Christ one thousand five hundred and forty, which at Rome was the birth-year of our smallest Society of Jesus under its parent Ignatius — a Spanish man drawn from the camps of the Emperor to spiritual warfare — In the year 1540, John that same year saw at Granada this same John of God, taken from those same camps, laying the foundations of that life which the very ample Congregation of those who, wholly occupied in exercising the offices of Hospitality toward poor pilgrims and the sick, retain the name from the same throughout Spain; lays the foundations of a new Order, in France they are called the Brothers of Charity; in Rome and throughout the rest of Italy they are popularly called "Fate ben fratelli" or more briefly "Ben fratelli," from the customary formula of asking for alms left to them by their Founder, by which they call "Brothers" whomever they meet, and exhort them to do good through works of generous charity for relieving the need of the poor. For indeed, because iniquity abounded, the charity of many had also grown cold, and a remedy for both was to be provided by God. But for that which was the root of all evil and had infected souls, it was fitting that help should come first, by establishing a Society that would apply itself throughout the whole world to the extermination of sins; and then at last the foundations should be laid of another Religious Order, through which bodies also might be cared for.

[2] These foundations, moreover, were nothing other than the examples of virtues by the example of his life: and a certain method of aiding bodies and thereby souls, which John held while living at Granada and left to his companions of the same purpose; who, after his death, carried the same first to Madrid, then to other parts of Spain, encompassed by no written laws, so far as we know. For John was not working toward this (although I believe he foreknew by prophetic spirit that it would happen) — namely, to establish a new institute of Religious life, as is clear from the entire context of both Lives which we shall give — but he was intent on this one thing: to relieve the present necessities of whatever poor people there might be, which his companions followed without Religious vows. through himself and the companions who joined themselves to him, bound by no vows but steadfast only in the purpose of their soul, applying themselves to the same ministries. He himself clothed them in the same habit which he had been ordered by the Bishop of Tuy to wear — namely, breeches, a tunic, and a cloak of ash-gray color — so that the form of the poorest and most modest garb might distinguish them from the secular crowd, yet not insert them into any Religious Order, which it is certain and acknowledged that he never professed. Hence it happened that when the Religious Orders were contending about carrying the dead man's body, none of those companions whom he had kept in the Hospital claimed that task for themselves. The Franciscans, however, contended that this honor was owed to them above others, on the ground that he had most closely imitated the humility and poverty of Saint Francis throughout his entire life. The Minims, in whose church the body was laid to rest (for John had no church of his own in his Hospital), dressed the same man after death in the habit of their Order — and indeed, if we believe Montoya, according to his last will. Finally, the Hieronymites, to whose property the Hospital was transferred after John's death, held the superintendence, as they call it, of the same, committed to them by the Bishop, for some time.

[3] Until gradually that small seed, receiving increase, seemed not to need the supports of others and to be able to stand on its own, He obtains from Rome the permission to profess vows for them, especially if the companions, bound by certain vows, should dedicate themselves in perpetuity to this way of life. This was done, Gouveia writes in book 2, chapter 16, at the instigation of Rodrigo de Siguenza. For he, after twenty years spent as a soldier under the auspices of Philip II, having advanced to rendering service as a lieutenant to the Centurion, and from there promoted to the dignity of standard-bearer, when he had returned to his homeland for the purpose of revisiting his parents, and had found them dead — God moving his soul inwardly — conceived such a horror of worldly things that he dedicated himself to the service of the poor in the manner that John of God had taught his sons. Their number still consisted of no more than twelve, and they maintained that strictness of observance in which they had been nurtured by their Founder. They had not yet assumed the form of any Religious Order, but, subject to the Ordinary, they obeyed one from their own number, whom they honored with the title of Elder Brother. This was then John Garcia, from whom Rodrigo obtained the habit of penance (for so it is fitting to call, from the nature of the thing, that which John had worn, Rodrigo Siguenza, always with head and feet bare). Not long afterward followed the rebellion of the Moors throughout Spain, and it opened an immense field for the exercise of charity to Rodrigo and his companion Sebastian Arias, in which he so proved his worth that, when the disturbances were settled and he had returned to the Hospital — although he had not been a member of it for many years — he was nevertheless chosen as Elder by the Brothers; and he held that position, confirmed by various elections, for twenty-two years, having died in fifteen hundred and eighty-one, after having spent twenty-six years in the service of the poor.

[4] To this man's prudence the Order owes its being numbered among the Religious. For he sent Sebastian Arias to the feet of Pius V at Rome, to supplicate the Pontiff to grant him and his companions the habit and scapular and the status of a new profession. When this was obtained, certain other Hospitals, which had been erected in imitation of what John of God had begun and now stood subject to the local Ordinaries, affiliated themselves with the Hospital of Granada as their head. So that these things may be better understood, we subjoin the Bull of Pius V itself, given on the first day of January in the year 1571.

By the Bull of Pius V, Pius, Bishop, servant of the servants of God, for a perpetual memorial of the matter.

Although it is especially incumbent upon us by reason of the office of our Supreme Pontificate, given from heaven, to attend carefully to the advancement of all piously established places, nevertheless it is fitting that we devote ourselves all the more to the support of Hospitals and of all those dwelling and suffering in them, inasmuch as, considering the misery of such persons, we perceive that this is salutary for the sake of God.

[5] by which, for distinction from others, A petition recently presented to us on behalf of our beloved son Rodrigo Sequenza, Superior of the Hospital of Blessed John of God in the city of Granada, stated that although in the said Hospital of that most famous city — on account of the royal chancellery, to which a very great number of foreigners flock for the sake of business — there are found one Greater or Prior, as he is called, and ten or eighteen other Brothers, subject and obedient to that one, who labor with diligent care in collecting alms both for the Hospital itself and the Brothers, and for poor people of various conditions — the wretched, the sick, and the elderly, etc. (of whom nearly four hundred and more usually gather) — and who annually expend with the greatest zeal of charity a stipend of sixteen thousand ducats for their care and sustenance; and although in the same Hospital the number of the poor has been greatly increased on account of the war waged in the kingdom of Granada against the Moors, and alms are now given less frequently and in smaller amounts, nevertheless those Brothers, wearied by no labor, pursue that outstanding work of charity most fervently and unceasingly. with those who maliciously used a habit similar to that of the Brothers, Nevertheless, the malice of men has grown to such an extent that certain laymen, having no fear of God whatsoever, wickedly led by the hunger for gold, have dared to dress themselves in the habit and hood (commonly called "laijal"), made of the coarser and cheaper cloth with which the truly Religious of that Order are clothed, falsely pretending to be Religious. These men, at Cordoba, Madrid, Toledo, and Lucena, converted the alms collected for the Hospital of Granada — in which outstanding offices of charity are rendered to the poor — to wicked and damnable uses, not without notable damage and impediment to the poor of that and all other Hospitals.

Since, therefore, the said Rodrigo has humbly petitioned us that, in order more easily to remove the now-declared wickedness and feigned religion of these men, we might deign to grant all the Brothers of that Order who are truly Religious, both those now residing at Granada, Cordoba, and Lucena, and those who will reside there in the future, a scapular made of the cloth called "laijal," to be worn down to the knees, so that when thus clothed, as they travel about collecting alms, they may easily be distinguished from others who have maliciously put on their habit. Furthermore, he also humbly urged — since necessity itself requires it — that the sacraments of Holy Mother Church be administered to the sick, both Brothers and poor; that the unlearned be instructed; and that alms be gathered for the sustenance of the Hospitals and their members: that we would also most graciously grant the faculty of having and retaining in each Hospital one consecrated Brother, that is, a Priest, for reading the sacred offices and performing all other divine services; likewise, the faculty of collecting alms not only in those cities in which the Hospitals exist, but also throughout the entire district of any diocese — thereby showing notable grace and Apostolic benevolence, to be recompensed by God, to the poor dwelling in the Hospitals.

[6] We, therefore, who sincerely desire to help the poor in Christ, a scapular under the Rule of Saint Augustine is granted, not only foster the oft-mentioned Rodrigo and his Confreres in so pious and praiseworthy a purpose, but also absolve them from every force of excommunication, suspension, and interdict, and from all other ecclesiastical sentences, censures, and penalties in whatever way incurred, and considering them absolved for the purpose of obtaining the effect of the present document, and well favoring such just petitions, we by Apostolic authority, by the tenor of the present document, perpetually grant to the same Rodrigo and to all and each of the Brothers of the said Hospitals (provided they observe the Rules of Saint Augustine) a scapular over their hood, to be worn down to the knees, made of the cloth called "laijal." But we also give full authority to choose one from among the Brothers in each Hospital, who, wearing the same and similar habit of the other Brothers, and the faculty of having one Priest in each house but clad somewhat more finely according to the priestly dignity and at the discretion of the Ordinary of that place, shall perform the priestly office. And finally, for the aforesaid Hospitals, for the sustenance and care of the poor and sick, we grant the right of seeking and receiving alms not only in those cities in which the Hospitals exist, but also in all other places and dioceses, which they are permitted to convert to the good uses and relief of the poor of Christ. Moreover, we perpetually subject both the Priest himself and the Prior and all other Brothers to the jurisdiction, correction, visitation, and prescriptions of the Ordinary of whatever place; and we will that the Greater and the other Brothers shall be required to render a legal accounting of the administration of alms, at the proper time each year, to the Ordinary of the place alone and to no one else.

[7] Furthermore, lest the Brothers who now exist in the Hospitals, under the obedience of the Ordinary. and those who shall come hereafter, should dismiss, lay aside, much less hand over to another or exchange the aforesaid habit once assumed, unless it be done with the consent of all the other Confreres in that Hospital in which they received it, we perpetually ordain and decree, under the sentence of greater excommunication, to be incurred ipso facto. We also forbid all and each person, of whatever status, order, or condition, with the exception of the local Ordinaries, from intruding themselves under any pretext into the governance, government, or administration of those Hospitals, or from attempting to erect similar Hospitals. Those acting contrary to this shall incur the aforesaid penalty of excommunication. In addition, we will that the Greater or Superior and the Brothers of these Hospitals shall be disturbed, molested, or troubled by no one of whatever order and condition, even by the founder or author himself; but they themselves shall always freely govern the Hospitals of their own...

[8] Gregory XIII, following Pius V, willingly granted and bestowed upon the Hospital of Granada all those things Gregory XIII grants privileges. which are said to have been conceded for the salvation of souls, for the happy state of souls, places, and persons — those who, having spurned the enticements of this most deceitful world, serve under the sweet yoke of Religion and serve God by exercising works of piety and charity. And he further extended those privileges and indulgences, granted by him both to the Brothers and to the laity and sick living under their care, to other Hospitals built or to be built at Seville, Madrid, Cordoba, Lucena, and also in the parts of the Indies. This Bull of Gregory, given at Frascati in the year 1576 on May 12, Sixtus V grants the power of a General Chapter, Sixtus V renewed word for word through that which begins "Debitum nostrae providentiae," and it is found to have been given in the year 1580 on June 10. And when the same Pontiff learned that about eighteen Hospitals similar to the one at Granada had been erected in the Provinces of Spain and Italy, and that the number of Brothers was increasing daily — who were requesting that they be given the power to come together into one body under one head, and to celebrate a General Chapter at Rome, in which they would both appoint for themselves a General Superior and establish their own constitutions (which they had been almost entirely without until then, although, living for the most part under the Rules of Saint Augustine, they professed the three substantial vows, and added to them a fourth vow of bringing aid to the poor of Christ)...

[9] "Approving," he says, "their laudable institute, we join and unite all the Brothers and Hospitals of Blessed John of God, now existing or to exist, as diverse members in the manner of other well-established Religious Orders and Congregations, into one; and by the tenor of the present document we perpetually institute and erect a Congregation or Society under the title of John of God, and we announce a general meeting to be celebrated next May at the Hospital of Saint John Calybite in Rome; and to all and each of the Superiors and other Brothers of whatever Hospital of John of God, situated in whatever place (even if in some Hospital certain Brothers have not yet professed the three substantial vows and have bound themselves to no Rules, provided they go about wearing the said habit under the title of John of God), we command in the virtue of holy obedience and of statutes to be established therein: that they send to Rome from each Hospital two Brothers who are well versed in the Rules, institutes, and customs, so that they may instruct the Superior Definitors in the Chapter, or at a minimum one from each Hospital. And so that the said General meeting may henceforth be celebrated with greater fruit, to all and each of the Brothers gathered in chapter fashion in the aforesaid place... we grant perpetual power and authority to order and reform the forms, governments, statutes, and customs of whatever Hospital which seem to require particular correction, revocation, renewal, or complete alteration. We also grant... the power to elect a General Superior or even Provincial Superiors, even for a fixed term at their pleasure, etc."

[10] These things can be read more fully in the Bull drawn up in the year 1586, where were these printed? published together with the other cited and yet-to-be-cited constitutions of the Roman Pontiffs at Neuburg, after the Life of Blessed John of God — after which, following the Rule of Saint Augustine, the statutes of the Order conceived and arranged in that General Chapter are also printed. In these, the title "Statutes of Blessed John of God for the Religious" seems to need correction, since they were drawn up thirty-six years after the death of the blessed man, although some rudiments of them were already maintained among the Brothers at Granada, as is clear from Alfonso de Castro at number 86. After this, Gregory XIV confirmed by a special Brief all the privileges of the Order granted to it by the predecessor Pontiffs, on April 19, 1591; and shortly afterward, A Protector is given to the Order. namely on May 8, he issued letters in the form of a Brief by which he appointed Girolamo Rusticucci, Cardinal Priest of the title of Saint Susanna, his Vicar in Rome for the time being, as Protector of the praised Order.

Section II. The affairs of the Order disturbed and gradually fully restored by the Pontiffs.

[11] Until this point, all things had flowed happily for the new Order. But under the new Pontificate of Clement VIII, the state of affairs changed not a little. Clement VIII, on account of the usurped exemption, For when, through the communication of privileges with the Archihospital of the Holy Spirit in Sassia — which by the decree of Nicholas V in the year 1456 had been exempted from the jurisdiction of the Ordinaries — the Brothers of John of God claimed the same exemption for themselves, on account of the above-mentioned Brief of Gregory XIV, which made express mention of the said communication of privileges and added it as a supplement to the privileges of the earlier Pontiffs: "We," says Clement in his Constitution of the year 1596, "at the beginning of our Pontificate, when we had heard this, and other causes, that the Confreres of the same Congregation had gradually departed from their first institute, and had intermitted the work of Hospitality toward the poor and sick, to which they are chiefly bound to attend, and others had been initiated into sacred Orders so that they might be immune from the service of the Hospitals — after mature consideration, we subjected the aforesaid Congregation and its Hospitals and places everywhere existing to the local Ordinaries and their jurisdiction and authority, he removes the form of a Religious Order: and we willed that they should no longer be ruled and governed by one Greater; and we forbade the Confreres of the Congregation from making profession and receiving sacred Orders; so that henceforth they would be required to take and observe only the vow of Poverty and Hospitality — we decreed and ordained, as is more fully seen in our letters dispatched under the date of February 13, 1592, in the form of a Brief."

[12] The most salutary institute would have been entirely dissolved if this intention had persisted with the Pontiff. afterward, however, he restores the right of electing a Superior, But induced by the supplications of Cardinal Rusticucci, and finding that the Hospitals and pious places existing in Italy, thus separated from each other, had suffered and were daily suffering grave inconveniences and damages for want of a Superior, he restored to the Congregation the right of electing a Greater, and ordained that form of governance by the aforesaid Constitution of the year 1596 which seemed best to him in perpetuity, and which was conformable to the indults of the earlier Pontiffs and to the Congregation's own statutes. He also granted that the Confreres might be initiated into sacred Orders for the Priesthood, provided that, according to their first institute, they serve the poor and sick in simplicity. So it is surprising that Clement's successor Paul V (for the intermediate Leo XI had departed this life in the first month of his Pontificate) was petitioned and of receiving Orders: as if by the aforesaid constitution the path to sacred Orders had been forbidden to the Brothers, when it is so expressly permitted to them therein.

[13] Paul, moreover, through a Brief given in the year 1609, considering that it was very burdensome to have secular Priests which Paul V confirms: who would hear the confessions of the poor sick, administer the Sacraments, and commend the souls of the dying to Almighty God; and that it was also unseemly for such secular Priests to be absent from the Houses after celebrating the most holy sacrifice of the Mass for a long day,

and sometimes also the whole night, to the greatest detriment of the souls of the sick... he granted to each House of the said Congregation one Confrere only, who, at the discretion of the Congregation, might be admitted to all sacred and Priestly Orders... and once admitted, might perform the duties of a Priest, provided... he had professed the Rule of that Congregation at least six years before. "But he," he says, "whoever has been made Priest, shall devote himself to no other labors than solely to the reading of Masses and the administration of the Sacraments; and if it happens that any of them is deprived of the habit of the said Congregation on account of his merits, he shall be immediately suspended ipso facto and without any declaration from the exercise of his Orders."

[14] But there was another reason why the Greater and his Brothers wished the Clementine Constitution to be abolished: and he also restores the power of professing Religious vows; namely, that they might be restored to where they had fallen from — that is, to the profession of the three substantial vows of Religion, which Clement had forbidden them, believing, says Paul in the Bull granted two years later, that the Brothers would live much more securely and that offenders could be punished without scandal if they professed only the single vow of Hospitality (Clement had also added that of poverty) under the obedience of the Ordinary. "But when" (Paul continues) "we had learned from our beloved son, Brother Peter, the Greater of the Hospitals of the said Congregation established in the kingdoms of Spain, that the above-mentioned letters of Clement VIII had produced no effect, or indeed a very small one — which had not been discontinued in Spain, nay, that up to this point the Brothers had been professing the four vows just as they had been accustomed to do, and were still professing them, and indeed with greater benefit to the Religion, because they could thus live much better as true Religious — we... wishing to dispose more maturely concerning the foregoing... decree and ordain that for all future times in perpetuity, in the Hospitals and places of those kingdoms which have been accustomed to have a Confrere as Greater, though under the jurisdiction and visitation of the Ordinary, those Brothers... who, after the probation year has elapsed, have solemnly pronounced the four aforesaid vows, shall be held by all the faithful of Christ to be true Religious, true Regulars under the Rule of Saint Augustine, so declared by the Roman Church." He then grants the faculty of receiving sacred Orders and determines various matters more specifically concerning the jurisdiction of Ordinaries over the Hospitals and the Brothers serving in them.

[15] These things were done by Paul in the year 1611, who confirmed both of his Constitutions by a new Bull and the Order, vexed by the Bishops, given in the year 1617 for all the Hospitals of this Congregation wherever they might be in the world. This Bull is found printed in the Italian translation of Gouveia at the end of the book. And finally, in the year 1619, when he had learned that certain local Ordinaries, under the pretext of obedience to which the same Brothers and Hospitals of both Italy and Spain were subject, extending themselves far too broadly, not only concerning the governance and government of the Hospitals committed to those Brothers, and the administration of Ecclesiastical Sacraments in them, and the rendering of accounts of those received and expended in those same Hospitals, but also the private correction and regular discipline of the said Brothers and every jurisdiction over them; and were accustomed to choose the Superiors of the said Congregation and the Priests or Chaplains who would serve those Hospitals in divine matters; and to appoint physicians, surgeons, and other ministers and officials necessary for the governance and management of those Hospitals; and to receive novices; and generally to do and execute all and each of those things which pertain to the regular discipline and correction of the said Brothers, he exempts them from the jurisdiction of the Ordinaries: and which, according to the regular institutes of the said Congregation, ought to be performed; and were disturbing in various ways the peace of those Brothers concerning the aforesaid matters; and on account of this, the authority of the Superiors of the said Congregation and the observance of its regular institute was vanishing; and the said Hospitals and Brothers dwelling in them were sustaining not slight inconveniences in spiritual and temporal matters — he plainly exempted those Hospitals and Brothers from the jurisdiction of the Ordinaries and confirmed all the privileges of the predecessor Pontiffs.

[16] This exemption, however, Urban VIII limited by a Brief given in the year 1638 as follows: which Urban VIII limits. that with regard to the Convents and Hospitals of the said Congregation in which there shall be twelve Religious, the Bishops shall in no way intrude themselves; and with regard to those Convents or Hospitals in which there shall be a lesser number of Religious, the same Bishops may, together with the Provincial or other Greater Superior of the same Congregation, proceed to the review of the accounts of the administration of those Hospitals — yet in such a way that they shall in no wise meddle with the persons themselves. Tamayo de Salazar adds, regarding the life of this Blessed in his Spanish Martyrology, that the same Urban made the members of this institute participants of the privilege which is called "Mare Magnum."

[17] Number of Hospitals in Spain, The same author, setting before our eyes the happy progress and growth of the same Order, says: "The Religion of this Hospitality in Spain embraces two Provinces — one Baetic, the other Castilian. In the latter there are 15 Hospitals, and in them 506 beds, in which 6,340 sick persons are cared for, afflicted with various infirmities. In the Province of Baetica, 23 Hospitals are numbered, which contain 1,180 beds, in which 1,221 sick persons, laboring under diverse infirmities, are cared for. Among the Indians, this Religion numbers three Provinces, of which the first is Peruvian, and among the Indians, which contains 17 Hospitals, and in them there are 900 beds, in which 11,030 sick persons are cared for. The second is Mexican, which has 15 Hospitals, and in them 6,490 sick are cared for, for they maintain 480 beds. The third is called Terra Firma, which embraces 9 Hospitals, and in them there are 300 beds, in which 4,060 sick persons are cared for — and this when Spanish fleets are absent, for when these arrive, the sick are innumerable. In Sardinia, and elsewhere, Italy, Poland, Belgium, France, and Germany, 8 Provinces are counted, which contain distinguished Hospitals in which very many sick are cared for — whose number has not come to our hands, since the Hospitals are among foreigners."

[18] "Still, among the Spaniards and Indians, this Religion sustains 600 and more Brothers, Number of Brothers among the Spaniards and Indians of whom 80, initiated in sacred Orders, administer the sacraments to the sick. And there are cared for annually in Spain, India, and Italy alone 110,350 sick — and this in beds; and their activities, for outside the beds the number of those whom the Brothers serve is innumerable, employing the ministry of surgery, among whom many are found most expert in this art. If you consider the charity of all, you will behold something indescribable: for since nearly all are vigorous young men who could be applied to various occupations or communities, despising all things and serving God in their neighbors, they treat their ulcers, drain their abscesses without nausea, cut their limbs, cleanse their gangrenous sores, clean the filthy and wretched poor, purify and heal those infected with the venereal plague, nurture those afflicted with epidemic contagion, and apply medical hands and skill to all kinds of wounds, even the most loathsome. What more? Partly divided among themselves, some seek alms for sustaining the poor, others remain in the Hospitals for the care of the poor sick. Nothing among them is empty, nothing idle: everywhere sustained by charity, with joyful countenances they furnish glory to God, salvation to their neighbors, and merits to themselves, amid so many offices of Hospitality, with no care of ambition intervening, no reward of gain coming between."

Section III. Authors of the Life, sacred cult.

[19] Of this Order, scarcely known in Belgium, These things it has pleased us to treat rather copiously for the purpose of our work, for a fuller knowledge of an Order not much known in our Belgium, where outside the Spanish fortresses there is only a single Hospital of that Order — namely at Mechelen, for the sick soldiers of the royal army, especially the Spanish. Since the care of Hospitals here is almost entirely in the hands of holy Virgins and Nuns, according to the custom of the Belgians, who commit all domestic ministries to the female sex — and this from the very instinct of nature, which imprints upon that sex a more tender affection of compassion toward the sick, which Ecclesiasticus followed when he said in chapter 36, verse 17: "Where there is no woman, the needy man groans." In Spain and Italy, however, where among women there is no or very little freedom and skill in conducting affairs, such an Institute was absolutely necessary. The Founder was listed among the Blessed in the year 1630 Its Founder — whom from the usage of pontifical documents we may rightly call John of God (although he himself did not make a Religious Order) — we may say was listed among the Blessed by Urban VIII, who permitted the entire Order to venerate him with the honor of Mass and Office of a Confessor. We shall treat of this matter at greater length in the Appendix. Here, however, it is sufficient to observe that at Bologna he is considered the Patron of the Society of Printers, Booksellers, and Stationers, as is found in Paul Masini on this day in his survey of Bologna — and perhaps elsewhere throughout Spain and Italy. With the greatest right, certainly, since upon his return from Africa, up to the time of his full conversion — a space of five or six years — he not only earned his living by selling pious booklets, prints, and small images, but also bore much fruit for the salvation of souls, partly traveling around villages and towns as an itinerant, partly openly maintaining a shop for such merchandise at Granada.

[20] The Life written in Spanish within 25 years: The Life was first written in Spanish by Master Francisco de Castro, Priest and Rector of the Hospital of Granada — and indeed, as it appears, within the twenty-fifth year after his death, since he does not mention the Gregorian Bull given in the year 1571, or at least (if this was not published, as we may suspect from the promulgation made by Sixtus V a decade later) not many years after the thirtieth, for he calls the pontificate of Gregory XIII, which ended in the year 1585, the present one at the time of his writing, in chapter 23. This Francisco — and the copy we obtained from the Library of our College in Brussels, printed at Granada in the year 1613, being of the second or perhaps the third edition — exhibits a price assessment made in the year 1585, from which it follows that the printing license that follows, signed in the year 1599, was a repeated one, with the numbers everywhere expressed at length. This Life was translated into Italian by Giovanni Francesco Bordini, rendered into Latin from the French by Raisse, Archbishop of Avignon, and into French by François de Harlay, Archbishop of Rouen, as Arnoldus de Raisse, Canon of the distinguished Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Douai, testifies. He rendered the French version (as far as we can gather) into Latin and published it at Douai in the year 1623, one year before John was duly enrolled among the Blessed — and he uses the title of Blessed, from which the Spanish author had abstained, perhaps following the French translator.

[21] The same appeared in Latin at Neuburg on the Danube in the year 1627, and in the title John is called both Blessed and Founder of the Order of Brothers Caring for the Sick — likewise at Neuburg by others: which title is absent from the Spanish, in which one reads only "History of the Life and holy works of John of God and of the institution and beginning of his Order" — which was added, presumably, on account of the three last chapters in which the events after the obsequies of John are related, together with the Bull of Pius V. The aforesaid Neuburg edition presents this Life as first described by Father Master Francisco de Castro, Rector of the Hospital of Granada, then by the Reverend Master Giovanni Francesco

Bordini, Doctor and President of the Congregation, translated from the Spanish language into Italian; thirdly rendered into Latin by Martin Sero, a student of both laws; and finally corrected for the most part by another person called upon to eliminate the more serious errors, and published at the expense of the Brothers of Mercy in the Hospital of Saint Wolfgang at Neuburg-on-the-Danube, which is most graciously and most liberally given annually by the Most Serene Prince Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria, Cleves, Jülich, and Berg, etc., for the sustenance and care of the poor sick. But that edition (whether by the fault of the translator or the corrector) abounds with so many and so foul errors unfaithfully rendering the Spanish text why has it here been rendered anew into Latin? that, since we thought no one could be relied upon — not even Raisse, who, although faithfully enough but with little elegance, had captured the author's sense, because he had not had the original text before his eyes — we were compelled to prepare a new translation ourselves.

[22] For the Acts found in Tamayo, written by Master Francisco de Castro and rendered into Latin by Tamayo himself (as he professes before and after them), differ so greatly from the rest What is the Life in Tamayo like? that, although we had not yet seen the Spanish text, we would nevertheless dare to pronounce with certainty that this author, using his customary license, had at his own discretion removed or added from elsewhere whatever pleased him — in good faith indeed, but by no means suitable to our purpose, especially when he presents to us ancient documents thus interpolated, mixing in many most putrid fabrications from Flavius Dexter and authors of similar flour who are spurious, by which equally all things are rendered suspect of falsehood to the prudent reader. Of this, however, Tamayo ought not to be suspected in this Life: for whatever he added, although he conceals it, he took from the other, more extensive Life, The other Life, by Gouveia as author. which after the twentieth year of this century, when the business of Beatification was being pursued with the greatest ardor in Spain, was written and brought to light in the Spanish language from the Madrid press in the year 1624 by Dom Friar Antonio de Gouveia, Bishop of Cyrene, Apostolic Visitor in Persia, Counselor of the Royal Majesty and Preacher for the Kingdom of Portugal — giving John the title of Blessed Father and calling him Founder of the Order of Hospitality of the poor sick. This Life was translated into Italian by Brother Bernardo Pandolfo, a Priest of the same Order, after the Beatification of their Patron had been completed, and published at Naples in the year 1631, from which source we obtained the same, reprinted a decade later.

[23] The reason why we did not think this should be rendered entire into Latin, but truncated, with all things contained in the earlier Life omitted, by us partly transcribed: we shall give after the author's preface. But we preferred to do this rather than to transcribe the Acts of Blessed John of God from Gouveia in their entirety in a new and briefer style, as Father Friar Niccolò Avagnale did in Italian in a compendium of the Life and Miracles which, dedicated to Father Friar Nunzio-spera, General of the Order, was given to the light at Naples in the year 1630. rendered more compendiously in Italian and French A similar but somewhat fuller compendium was collected in French from Spanish and Italian authors, as he says, in the following year by Monsieur de Loyac, Doctor of Sacred Theology, which the Religious of the Parisian Hospital called "of Charity" offered to Marie de' Medici, mother of Louis XIII the Most Christian King, their Foundress. Although these compendia are approved by us in the highest degree, nevertheless for those pursuing the sources rather than the streams derived from them, it ought to be more pleasing to see the very style of the original authors, as much unchanged as can be done in another language.

[24] Now, since mention has arisen of the Parisian Hospital, built with truly royal magnificence and amplitude, it is worthy of note that the mother of Louis XIV as well, Anne of Austria, Relics translated to Paris. wished to be in a certain sense another parent of the same Hospital, and declared her affection both by outstanding liberality and especially by obtaining in the year 1660 a bone of the arm from the body of Blessed John of God. Concerning its solemn translation to the said Hospital, we shall have to treat in the last place, so that it seems both Queens judged that they could not rightly be called mothers of the Most Christian Kings unless they showed themselves most piously as mothers to the poor of Christ.

LIFE

From the Spanish of Francisco de Castro.

John of God, Founder of the Order of Hospitality at Granada in Spain (Blessed)

AUTHOR: FRANCISCO DE CASTRO.

PROEM.

What usually happens to all who write history — that they experience the principal difficulty in investigating the truth and bringing it to light from the darkness of oblivion — The difficulty of writing this Life: this also befell me in this work: not because the interval of time that has passed from John's death to this present day has been a long one (for only a modest one has intervened), or because very few at all survive among the living who knew him while he lived; but because no one took care to commit the principal headings of his Life to writing, and he himself (as he was most fond of silence) rarely brought forth anything that did not pertain to the necessary ministries of the poor and to works of charity. And so it has happened that this history is necessarily deprived of many illustrious portions of heroic deeds, which I have woven together from things known by sight and hearing; from what source was the material taken? although, conscious of my own slightness, I knew well enough that it could by no means be achieved by my rude talent that all and each, placed in their due light, should be sketched with worthy colors. Only those things, therefore, omitting others, will be reported here, whose truth appeared more undoubted and certain; and these for the greater part taken from the commentary which a certain companion of the holy man left to us — most similar to him in virtue and the perpetual companion of all his journeys — who, in a plain and easy style, noted down for his own rather than others' memory whatever he himself remembered having seen or having heard from reporters most worthy of trust and intimately acquainted with the Blessed man himself.

ANCIENT DIVISION OF CHAPTERS

Chapter 1. Birth and homeland of John of God.

2. Another misfortune which was the cause of his leaving the military.

3. What happened to him on returning to his homeland.

4. What happened next.

5. What happened until his return to Spain.

6. What happened up to his final conversion to God.

7. The conversion of John of God.

8. How he was afterward believed to be insane.

9. How Avila sent someone to visit and console John in the Royal Hospital.

10. How John went as a pilgrim to Our Lady of Guadalupe.

11. How and at whose persuasion he returned to Granada.

12. Concerning the first Hospital he had.

13. Concerning the other works in which he was engaged.

14. Concerning his great charity.

15. Concerning his patience and great humility.

16. How they purchased a house for John as a Hospital, and what followed.

17. Concerning works of penance and the beginning of the Habit.

18. Concerning continual prayer, and what molestations he suffered from demons; also what hidden things he predicted before they happened.

19. Concerning the fervent zeal with which he was borne toward the honor of God and the salvation of his neighbor.

20. Concerning the death of John of God.

21. Concerning his burial and obsequies.

22. Concerning the things that happened after his death.

23. Concerning the institute which the Brothers of the Hospital of John of God still observe to this day, and the remarkable fruit of that institute throughout the whole world.

24. Concerning the Life of Peter the Sinner.

25. Concerning the arrival of Peter the Sinner at the Hospital of John of God, and his death.

26. Transcript of the Bull of Pope Pius V concerning the foundation, institution, approval, and confirmation of the Hospital of John of God in this city of Granada: concerning the faculty granted to the Greater to collect alms for the poor, to take the habit under the Rule of Saint Augustine, and to make the vow of obedience to the Prelate.

CHAPTER I.

Birth, adolescence, and military service of Blessed John of God.

[1] In the year after the Virgin's delivery, one thousand five hundred and thirty-eight, with the Emperor Charles V happily governing the Spanish Monarchy, Born in Portugal, Don Gaspar de Avalos was presiding over the city of Granada as Archbishop, to whose many adornments this felicity also was added: that during his pontificate that diocese had many who flourished with the praise of outstanding sanctity, among whom John, surnamed "of God," stood out — humble indeed and abject in the eyes of men, but by far the most illustrious in merits before God and in the gifts of grace. His origin was Portuguese, and his homeland was Montemor-o-Novo in the diocese of Evora. His parents were people of middling fortune, by whom he was raised until his eighth year, and by them — suspecting nothing of the sort — he was carried off to Oropesa by a certain Cleric. There he lived for many years, having been admitted into the household of an upright man who, on account of the occupation of tending livestock that he practiced, was commonly called "el Mayoral." This man, He serves at Oropesa, as soon as he reached the age suitable for domestic duties, sent him out into the fields along with the rest of the household staff assigned to the custody of the flocks, to go back and forth providing them with food and other supplies necessary for the shepherds. This he did — though at a tender age torn from his parents — with such diligence and observance that he was dear to his masters and acceptable to all.

[2] While engaged in that occupation, now a young man of twenty-two years, the desire to experience military life seized him. then made a soldier He was enrolled among the infantry, whom under Centurion Juan Ferruz the Count of Oropesa had at that time ordered to be levied, for the service of the Emperor in defense of Fuenterrabía, which the King of France was threatening with his army. For it was the desire to see the world that had enticed John, and the love of tasting that liberty which those who follow the camps are usually carried along by, with loose reins, through the broad no less than difficult path of vices — which was for him the occasion of many labors and dangers. Being stationed, therefore, in those borders, it happened to him and his companions that they were left without the provisions necessary for food; and certain villages were at some considerable distance, where they hoped to find them. John, the youngest and most diligent of them, promises a remedy for the evil, and, intending to make up for the delay of traveling and returning by speed, he leaps onto a horse he is thrown by a horse over a precipice, seized from the French enemy. When this horse drew nearer to those places where it used to be stabled and recognized the paths of roads it had more often traveled, it began to rush headlong in an insane course toward its own home. And since the halter by which it was guided was not sufficient to control it, it carried its rider off through the slopes of a mountain until it crashed heavily to the ground among the rocks with him; where, deprived of both strength and voice, he lay for more than two hours, spewing copious blood from his mouth and nostrils, with no one present who could either catch him as he

fell or bring help in that crisis.

CHAPTER II.

[3] John, having come to himself, although he was most grievously tormented from the fall, and having invoked the Mother of God, he preserves his life. was nevertheless more distressed by the fear of falling into the hands of the enemy. Therefore, gathering his strength as best he could, he raised himself to his knees and, with an almost dying voice, his eyes lifted to heaven, he said to the Virgin Mother of God, to whom he had always lived in devotion: "Come to my aid, most loving Mother, and intercede with your Son to rescue me from this present danger and not to allow me to come into the power of my enemies." Having spoken, and somewhat relieved, he seized a stick which he first found to support his dislocated limbs, and returned on foot to his waiting companions. When they saw him returning on foot who had departed on horseback, they scarcely doubted that this was the doing of the enemy, upon whom he had unwittingly stumbled. They asked how he had come to return in such a state. He told them of his fall from the horse, and being placed in bed and covered with many garments, he was composed for sweating, by the benefit of which he recovered his health completely within a few days.

But a more serious crisis soon overtook him. His Centurion had entrusted to him certain spoils seized from the French enemy to be guarded. condemned to hanging When he understood that these had been carelessly kept and stolen away by stealth, he flew into such great rage against John that he would not allow himself to be swayed by any pleas from ordering him to be hanged from a tree, to pay the penalty for his own negligence and another's wrong. But when a certain man of rank happened to be passing by and, having learned the cause, interceded for John, the Centurion suffered himself to be persuaded that the sentence should not be carried out, provided only that the accused should never again appear before his sight and should immediately depart from the royal camp.

[4] his life being spared, he returns to Oropesa: John recognized in what great danger he was daily living, and with what unhappy reward the world recompenses its followers. Therefore he judged it more prudent to return to his former master and the care of flocks at Oropesa, intending to lead a safer life at his master's house than in the military. His master embraced him upon his return with the charity with which a father embraces a son — for he was a servant of proven faithfulness and diligence, raised in his own house — and kept him with himself for four years. When these were completed, it chanced that while tending the sheep, his companions began talking about the Count of Oropesa, who was about to depart for Hungary under the auspices of the Emperor, who was moving with his army toward Vienna to prevent the Turks from approaching those regions. John, and again takes up arms against the Turks. since youth and inexperience of things is impatient of prolonged rest, resolved to pass into the household of the Count, scarcely remembering what had happened to him at Fuenterrabía. Nor did he fail in any duties of a vigorous servant as long as the Count remained in Hungary, and on this account he was pleasing to the Count and the entire household — until, when the war was laid aside because of the withdrawal of the Turks, the Count returned by sea to Spain and, having put in at the port of Coruña, went back to Oropesa.

CHAPTER II.

He returns to his homeland, and from there to the sheep; and shortly after, crossing into Africa, he undertakes a work of heroic charity.

CHAPTER III.

[5] John had returned to Spain with the Count and, touched by the desire to revisit his homeland — Having returned to his homeland to which the very opportunity of the journey invited him, and the love of his parents and kinsmen, never seen since his early childhood, drew him — he had betaken himself to Montemor-o-Novo. But having departed thence at so tender an age, and not even knowing the names of his own parents, no one could give any certain answer to him when he inquired. Until, wandering about in various places, he happened upon his uncle — an upright and very honest old man — who, recognizing in him the lineaments of his father's face, and having been informed in order of all his fortune since he had been absent from his father's house, he is recognized by his uncle, said: "Your mother, my son, was consumed by death within a few days, unable to bear the longing for you, who at so tender an age were so furtively carried off that no diligence could discover who had taken you or where. Your father, moreover, when he saw himself at once a widower and bereaved, immediately hastened to Lisbon to take up the habit of the Franciscan Order, in which he closed his last day with a happy and holy end. Therefore, if you wish to remain in these parts and in my house, you shall be to me in the place of a son; and you will experience this in deed itself, as long as you live in my household."

[6] and learning of his parents' death The mournful death of his parents, especially of his mother, caused John great sorrow, since he himself seemed to have been its principal cause. His tears and laments betrayed the emotion of his soul, by which he also provoked the good old man to weeping. And seeing himself both bereft of parents and unknown to the rest of his kindred, he first counted it indeed a great benefit that so friendly a hospitality had been offered him; but afterward, having considered the matter more maturely, he said: "Since it has pleased God, my lord, to take my parents from me here, there is no reason why I should wish to tarry here longer. But there is much reason urging me to follow the example of my excellent father and seek a place far from my home and kindred, where I may faithfully serve my God, and spend what remains of a life hitherto defiled by sins in expiating those same sins by wholesome penance.

I may faithfully serve Him; and spend what remains of a life hitherto defiled by sins in expiating those same sins by wholesome penance. he departs Indeed I trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that it will come to pass that grace will be granted to me by which I may be able to carry out this purpose of my mind. Do you, too, strive to obtain this for me from Him by your prayers, and send me off, gifted with a favorable blessing, that He whose rewarder of charity and hospitality so kindly offered I wish for you may lead me by His right hand." The old man did as he was asked, and clasping his nephew in a most tender embrace of love, not without a great abundance of tears, he said: "Come now, John, may God prosper your plans, propitiated by the intercession of your excellent parents, so that you may one day enjoy their company in heaven."

CHAPTER IV.

[7] Having thus departed from his homeland again, John crossed over into Baetica, and settled in the territory of Seville, where he hired out his labor to tend the flocks of a certain wealthy woman. in Baetica, For he was not a little attached to that occupation in which he had been raised from his tender years. So that it seems the all-wise God wished to have him occupied for some time in military and pastoral work — of both of which there is so great a similarity with the exercises of the spiritual life — he whom He had chosen as the master of instituting that life for many who would be called to the same. and again tends sheep: And indeed, military exercise fits this so well that it is clear that from the very beginnings of the religious novitiate, spiritual arms must always be handled, and never laid down from the hands of one who wishes to fight the good fight and carry off a glorious victory over the devil, the world, and the flesh, as our John carried it off. He who likewise for all the rest of his life fulfilled the office of shepherd, but moved by compassion for the poor leading infinite flocks of the poor and wretched to the pastures of both spiritual and bodily life. And indeed, already then, while devoted to the service of the Count of Oropesa, when he would gaze upon the fat and well-kept horses in the stables and those arrayed with gleaming saddles for display and show, while on the other hand the poor were depleted of strength, naked of body, and disfigured by emaciation, he used to say to himself: "How much more profitable it would be, O John, for you to devote yourself to caring for and feeding the members of Christ, rather than beasts devoid of reason!" Then, sighing from the depths of his breast, he would say: "May God grant that this may happen to me someday."

[8] Inflamed, therefore, by this desire — although He who had given him the will had not yet opened any way for its attainment — he led a sad and troubled life, and retained no portion of rest, to such a degree that even the once most gratifying care of sheep now displeased him. For he had spent only a few days in the service of the aforesaid lady when, one time, as he was thinking by what means, having bid farewell to the world, he might devote himself to the divine service, the idea was divinely cast into his mind that he would not do amiss if he crossed to the African regions and sojourned there for some time. he crosses to Africa Nor did he carry out his purpose more slowly than he had conceived it. With the good grace of his new mistress, he set out for Gibraltar, and there (with God thus disposing matters, who wished him to merit by some work of heroic charity a portion of that grace with which he was afterward to be so copiously filled) he encountered a nobleman of the equestrian order, who, by command of the King of Portugal, together with his wife and four young daughters and the rest of his household, had been brought there with a noble exile: to be transported to Ceuta in punishment for certain offenses, on account of which he had also been stripped of all his possessions, to serve there for some years. When John had disclosed to him his plan of crossing to Africa, enticed by the generous stipend which the nobleman offered if he would attach himself to him, he boarded the ship together with him and landed at Ceuta.

CHAPTER V.

[9] Here, that noble family experienced so harsh a region that those whose spirits had been supremely afflicted by the pain of exile and the poverty to be endured therein had their bodies also afflicted by serious disease, which consumed all the few remnants they had saved from the prior shipwreck of their fortunes. whose extreme necessity So that the nobleman, reduced to the utmost destitution of all things, resolved to seek a remedy for his need from the one person who seemed to exist in that time and place — namely John alone, himself feeble in strength — and to reveal to him the most wretched state of his affairs, summoning him to a private place and presenting to him his poor daughters, who, having been raised amid the once most happy delights of their father's house, now had no resource left for sustaining their lives except in him alone. For if John were willing to earn daily wages in the royal works, by which the walls of Ceuta were then being constructed, he alone could earn what would suffice for a meager living for all of them. It was not at all difficult to impel John's soul — he expends the daily wages of his labor. already long inclined toward works of Christian charity, and at that moment especially intent upon some such occasion for gaining the favor of the Divinity — to seize eagerly the opportunity that presented itself for fulfilling his vow. Therefore he agreed to the petition with a ready will, and from then on, as long as he remained in that household, he generously gave away every night whatever he had earned by his day's labor, for the relief of those wretched women and of their parents, doubly wretched on their own account and that of their daughters. All of whom bore their fortune with such patience that if on any day John, prevented by whatever business from going to work, brought nothing home, they spent the night unfed in the evening, and complained of nothing to anyone.

CHAPTER III.

Returning from Africa to Spain, he settles at Granada.

[10] John was pleased with himself in the exercise of such outstanding charity; and from then on he was not infrequently heard to say that from this beginning, it seemed to him, had flowed whatever he afterward obtained by divine grace for exercising works of piety. The apostasy of his companion, Nor did the devil, the enemy of all good, fail in his part; but, envying those fruits which both parties were gathering from this office of charity given and received, he strained all the sinews of his malice to disturb what had been well begun — which he undertook to do in this manner. The overseers of the works exercised harsh authority over the workers, treating them like slaves, raging with words and blows. Since most of them bore this indignity rather impatiently, and they had no freedom to migrate elsewhere at their discretion because of the stricter guards maintained in those border regions, as is fitting in frontier areas, some of those whom sharper pain goaded and an excessively feeble love of the Christian law did not sufficiently restrain from crime, took flight to Tétouan, intending to profess the Moorish perfidy there. Among these was one bound to John by a certain bond of friendship, who, without John's knowledge and at the devil's instigation, was drawn into the same madness.

[11] John bore the unhappy fall of this man with so sore a spirit imputing it to his own sins, that, consuming himself with constant tears and groans, he exclaimed: "Wretched me! What account am I to render to God for the ruin of this my Brother, who, fleeing from the bosom of the Catholic Church, has abjured the truth of the Christian faith, because he was unwilling to bear so small a labor?" But so dense were the clouds of most sorrowful thoughts that obscured the understanding of John, unaccustomed to struggles of this kind — constantly pressing upon him this one thing, that it was because of his own sins that his companion had come to that calamity — that he was not far from himself despairing of his own salvation and almost voluntarily throwing himself headlong into the same abyss. But God, he falls into a grave temptation: who was reserving him for greater works and always kept His eyes fixed upon him, took care to illumine the mind of His pilgrim, placed in this perplexity, with a ray of more divine light, and to provide a timely remedy for one tossed about in such a crisis — by leading him to a spiritual physician of souls, such as he had most often longed for with many tears and sighs, having invoked for this purpose the aid of the most merciful Virgin. For when at the monastery of Saint Francis, which the Religious of that Order inhabit at Ceuta, he happened upon a serious and learned Brother, a man of outstanding probity, having confessed his sins to him at greater length, he laid bare all the wounds of his soul and received counsel — on account of which he is ordered to return to Spain, indeed a command — that he should above all hasten to sail back to Spain, if he wished to be freed from this diabolical infestation.

[12] It was exceedingly grievous for John to leave his masters deprived of the help which he saw they needed so greatly. Nevertheless, realizing that this departure was absolutely necessary for him in order to place his own salvation in safety, he asked to be forgiven that, with the same readiness of will with which he had hitherto served them, he bids farewell to his master; he was now compelled to obey God, who commanded different things — who would provide for them hereafter with fatherly care, just as He had done before. Let them place all their trust in Him, and not deny him permission to depart. It cannot be said how grievously such an announcement

affected the wretched father and daughters. Yet when they saw that this resolution was firmly settled in him, with copious tears they all wished him well a thousand times, praying that God would repay him in full, with an abundance of graces, the aid that he had given to them.

CHAPTER VI.

[13] Having thus bid farewell, he boarded a ship; and as soon as he had landed at Gibraltar, entering a church, and at Gibraltar, having implored the divine aid, he prostrated himself on his knees before an image of the Crucified and gave many thanks to God, saying: "Blessed are you, O Lord, and blessed is the immensity of your goodness, by which you have deigned to free me — the most wretched of all sinners and most unworthy of your grace — from that diabolical deception into which my sins had cast me headlong, and to lead me into the port of security and salvation. In return, as much as is in me, I shall give myself wholly to your service. Only let the favor of your grace be present, which I humbly ask you to grant. Do not, I beg, turn the eyes of your clemency from your servant. May it please you, Lord, to show me the way in which I should walk, devoted from now and forever to your service; and restore peace and tranquility to my soul, that I may find what it so greatly desires, and ought to desire all the more, inasmuch as it is just that every creature should serve you, its most worthy Lord, with whole heart and affection."

[14] John remained at Gibraltar for a considerable number of days, during which he purified his soul with a general confession of all his offenses — frequenting the churches he begins to carry booklets and images about for sale, as much as he had time, so that he might beg from God pardon for his sins and counsel for what he ought to do. Being accustomed to go forth daily to any work whatsoever that offered itself for earning a living, since he was content with little, he shortly collected a small sum from the remnants of his daily wages, with which he purchased pious booklets, catechetical cards, and paper images of Saints to be sold from village to village — judging that in this way he would live with greater quiet and more virtuously, and that the same things would also benefit many others. For he had also purchased some secular books at a price, and if anyone offered to buy them, he himself, seizing the occasion to recommend better things, would offer another of more religious subject matter, which it would be more profitable to read instead of those; often adding a wholesome admonition for rightly ordering one's life, especially when he was dealing with children.

[15] Indeed, he even tried to attract buyers of sacred books by the cheapness of the price, preferring spiritual profit to temporal. not without fruit; And with the same readiness he sold pious images for less, wishing that everyone might be furnished with them, because he knew that they contribute greatly to exciting devotion in the minds of those who gaze upon them — as also the aforesaid cards, from which each person might teach their children the principal headings of Christian doctrine. In this business he was so courteous and affable that many bought, beyond their expectation, things they had never sought. And by the same industry, not a little temporal substance also grew for him along with the spiritual profit. and at last he establishes a shop at Granada. Therefore he daily purchased and sold more and better books; and because he found it very difficult to carry such a burden perpetually on his shoulders from place to place, he formed the plan of going to Granada and opening a bookshop there, being now forty-six years old. And he soon set up a stall under the Elvira Gate, under which he plied this pious trade, until God called him to more profitable gains.

CHAPTER IV.

The conversion of John and his simulated madness.

CHAPTER VII.

[16] On the thirteenth day before the Kalends of February, the sacred feast of the glorious Martyr Sebastian, when the city of Granada was celebrating his festivity in the hermitage dedicated to the same Martyr — When Avila was preaching, which is situated opposite the Alhambra — an eminent man and Master of Sacred Theology, called John of Avila, was addressing a sermon to a large gathering of people. His outstanding sanctity, combined with singular prudence and rare learning, was at that time wonderfully illuminating Spain, and his deeds would have deserved to be described in a separate commentary. Among others, our John was also present; and since by those confessions we mentioned and the other offices of piety and charity to which he had devoted himself until then, he brought a soul duly prepared — like fertile earth he received the seed of the divine word; and with his vivid imagination grasping the most powerful arguments (by which that great man, from the greatness of the reward with which God had recompensed the torments endured by the holy Martyr for love of His name, was inferring with what ardor of soul a Christian man ought to devote himself to the divine service, and to undergo a thousand deaths rather than offend that supreme Majesty by sinning) — immediately, illuminated by grace from above, he made manifest how great was the power of the speaker and the efficacy of his words.

[17] For as soon as the sermon was finished, John went out uttering cries imploring the divine mercy, John, deeply moved, publicly does penance, throwing himself on the ground, dashing his head against the earth and the walls, tearing his beard, hair, and eyebrows, and doing other things that signified a man out of his mind. Then, leaping into the city with the same cries, with a great crowd following behind and an enormous number of boys shouting "To the madman! To the madman!," he continued on his way until he came to the place where he had pitched his stall. And laying hands on the profane books, he began to tear them all apart with his nails and teeth; and strips himself of everything: but the pious and useful ones he began to freely give away to anyone who asked — likewise images and whatever he had of bookshop furnishings. Thus it quickly happened that, as there was no shortage of those who asked and received, he quickly appeared entirely stripped and bare. For, not content with what we have described, he also stripped off his very garments, retaining nothing but his shirt and breeches for the sake of covering his modesty. Then, with feet and head uncovered, he began once more to run through the principal streets of Granada with great vociferations — desiring to follow the naked Christ naked, and to exhibit himself to all as a pauper for the sake of Him who, though He was rich, made Himself poor, so that He might enrich all by His poverty and show them the way of humility.

[18] He had come to the cathedral church, not without a great crowd following him. and brought to Avila, Here, when, having fallen on his knees, he would make no end of beating his face with slaps and fists, of tearing his hair, and of demanding mercy from God with weeping and great outcry, certain of the more honorable citizens, moved by a feeling of compassion and not judging to be madness what the common people considered madness, raised the afflicted man from the ground and, having consoled him with friendly words, led him to the lodging of Master Avila, by whose sermon he had been so moved. That man, looking more deeply into the matter, ordered everyone to leave the room, keeping John alone with himself. Falling at his feet as a suppliant, John, after briefly recounting the course of his entire life, also laid open his sins to him, he gives himself over to him as a disciple. with great signs of true contrition, asking and beseeching him to receive him into his protection and guardianship — him through whom the divine grace had begun to work in him — and whom from this hour he would accept as father, lord, and teacher, ready and prepared to obey him in all things to the last breath of his life.

CHAPTER VIII.

[19] Avila could not contain himself, having seen such sincere signs of penance, from giving most abundant thanks to God; and enrolling him in the number of his spiritual sons, Encouraged to perseverance, he took upon himself all the care of directing him: "Take courage," he said, "Brother John, take courage in the Lord Jesus Christ, and place your trust in His mighty mercy. He who has begun will also complete His work. Only see that you are faithful in that which you have begun at His prompting; take care that you not turn your eyes or mind back; take care that you not allow yourself to be overcome by the enemy devil. Whoever in the spiritual warfare of our Lord shall have fought the good fight to the very end of their life shall enjoy eternal glory with Him; but those who turn tail faintheartedly — eternal destruction awaits them, reduced to the power of their enemies. When you feel yourself sad and afflicted and struck by some new temptation — such as usually do not fail new recruits recently conscripted for these wars — come running to me confidently and lovingly. Knowing the wounds of your soul and the assaults and snares by which you are chiefly attacked by the enemy, I shall immediately suggest wholesome counsel and certain medicine for the soul, from which you may receive new strength against the adversary. Go now, fortified with my blessing and with the divine one, and certain that the mercy of God will never fail you."

[20] Refreshed by these words and admonitions of Avila, he gathered new strength for subduing the flesh he simulates madness, and for making himself despised; desiring to be considered by all as insane and wicked, and to be afflicted with every kind of ignominy. Therefore, having departed from the master, he sought the place which is called the Bibarrambla, and there threw himself into a heap of mud lying in his path. Having plunged his face in it several times, he began before all who stood about — and they were very many — to confess whatever sins of his past life came to his memory, saying: "And I, a most unworthy sinner, who have offended my God and Creator in such and so great things — what do I deserve, except that, struck and ill-treated by all, I should become the offscouring of all and, as the most worthless refuse of the whole world, should be cast out in contempt upon the dung heap?" There was no one among the common people who did not believe he had entirely lost his sane mind. Therefore, so that he might actually obtain what he so greatly desired — inflamed by divine grace — just as he was, covered with mud and dung, he quickly rose and began again to run through the public streets, exhibiting with wild leaping and shouting every sign of a madman.

[21] The boys and many of the common people followed after him, and in groups pelted him with pebbles and mud, and he patiently endures the injuries of the mob. as he endured everything with great patience and inward joy of spirit, returning evil to no one; because to be filled and sated with reproaches for the love of Him whom he loved so greatly was his chief desire. He carried a wooden cross in his hand, which he held out to all to kiss; and if someone happened to command him for the love of God to kiss the ground, he obeyed immediately, however

foul the mud in which he stood, or however young was the boy who commanded it. He did these things with such great fervor that he very often fell to the ground exhausted, and was bruised among the blows and slaps of those shouting around him. For he so studiously feigned madness that he was everywhere truly believed to be insane. He was so worn down by the annoyances with which everyone afflicted him and by the lack of food which he withheld from his body that he could scarcely stand on his feet. Yet this was not enough for his ardor, but with a cheerful countenance and without complaints he voluntarily offered himself to the stones and blows by which he was assailed from near and far through the boys.

[22] When two citizens of the first rank thought this should no longer be permitted, He is dragged to the Hospital, moved by compassion, they seized him by the hands, dragged him out from the ring of the tumultuous mob, and led him to the royal Hospital — that is, the place where those who have fallen into mania in that city are customarily brought to be cured — and they commended him to the Superintendent of the Hospital, that he might order him to be kept far from the sight of people, perhaps to be restored to the proper balance of mind by that quiet. The Superintendent, who knew nothing of what had happened to him in the city, when he saw a man so badly treated, torn in his clothes, livid in his skin, disfigured by wounds on every side, to be cured of madness, having no doubt that his mind had been displaced from its proper state by a disordered brain, immediately ordered him to be led inside and that thought be given to applying a remedy. And at first the attendants gave him something of a delicacy, lest he should utterly collapse; but since the greater part of the cure customarily applied to such sick persons consists in this — that, tamed by blows, chains, and confinement, they lay aside their ferocity and, taught by suffering, come to their senses — not long afterward they bound his hands and feet, and with a whip twisted from a double cord they heaped upon his naked body a number of blows that was certainly not small.

[23] What would have been a remedy for madness in others was, for John — who labored under no other disease than an immense desire to suffer many bitter things for the love of Christ — and as such he is often cruelly scourged. a stimulus to do those things by which he might further animate and provoke those who were already prompt enough to administer that medicine to the sick. "O traitors," he would say, "and enemies of all good, why do you so cruelly and badly treat these wretched poor, my brothers, who dwell with me in this house of God? It would be better for you to have compassion on their sufferings, and to devote yourselves to refreshing them with food and cleansing them from filth and squalor, since the yearly funds established by the Catholic Monarchs for that purpose are more than sufficient." Therefore his caretakers, believing malice was joined to his madness, and wishing to free him from both evils, doubled the measure of beatings for him which were inflicted on others as a matter of course — those whom the infirmity of madness alone possessed. Yet he did not cease, under that veil, to reprove the grave excesses and vices he had observed in them, knowing that no other account would be rendered to him than blows multiplied in double portion — so that it is altogether very difficult either to explain in words or to estimate in thought how much John suffered for that reason and for the sake of Him whom he regarded as the author of this his purpose.

CHAPTER V.

After exercising patience and charity in the Hospital, he goes as a pilgrim to Guadalupe.

CHAPTER IX.

[24] Meanwhile Master Avila is informed that John is being kept bound in the royal Hospital, Avila consoles John: a madman among madmen. And so he, who knew both the nature and cause of the disease and the madness, sent one of his disciples to tell him in his name: That he was greatly refreshed by those auspicious beginnings by which John was beginning to suffer something for Christ; and that he asked, through the same Christ, that he show himself a valiant soldier to his commander in that contest; that prepared also to lay down his life in His service, he should humbly and patiently receive however many labors fell to him to endure at the pleasure of the divine Majesty — for any torments whatsoever would appear light to him when compared with those which our Lord endured on the Cross; that he should exercise and prove himself, so that when the time came to fight with the threefold enemy, he would not descend unprepared into the arena; and that finally he should place his hope in Him who never abandons those who trust in Him. This kindness of his excellent father and master, received by John with equal gratitude of soul, seemed to him something to be accounted as an immense benefit — namely, that he should still deign to remember him, placed in prison and out of the memory of men, and to think about his consolation and help. He kept saying, not without the most tender effusion of tears: "May God repay my Master and most benevolent parent grace for grace. Let him know that I am his servant, captured by the right of war, and that I trust solely in the mercy of God. I beseech him not to forget me, his useless and worthless servant, for the love of Christ, nor to cease praying to God for me. So I shall live in peace, and secure that I shall never be destitute of divine help."

[25] They were exchanging these and similar conversations with each other, who removes the mask of madness to which blows and beatings from the caretakers invariably succeeded, as soon as they perceived him to be disturbed (and he himself deliberately strove to offer them occasion for thinking so). These he received gladly, saying: "Go on, Brothers, go on, and beat and chastise this traitorous and hostile flesh of mine, which, by my foolishly indulging its desires, has been the origin of all evil for me. It is fitting that it should also pay for the crimes committed together with me." When, however, he saw other madmen being treated in a similar manner, he would say: "Would that God might bring me that time when I myself might have my own hospital, in which I might receive these most wretched souls deprived of the use of reason, and might be able to care for them at my own discretion." That these were by no means empty wishes, the outcome proved in the time that followed. A considerable number of days had passed for John in these labors, and he was seizing this very occasion to certainly fulfill his desire at last laying it aside, and of ministering to God in His poor. Therefore he began to show himself more tranquil henceforth and to give manifest signs of right and sane judgment, giving thanks to God with tears and sighs for having restored to him the former integrity of his mind, now free from those anxieties he begins to minister to the sick; by which he had been pressed a few days before.

CHAPTER X.

[26] The joyful Superintendent and attendants, as soon as they believed it safe to trust his words, removed him from confinement and restored him to liberty; and, released from his bonds, they allowed him to walk freely through the entire house. He, however, immediately impatient of idleness — although no one admonished or ordered him — began to put his hand to the domestic tasks: to wipe the vessels, to sweep the floors, to carry out the refuse, with great benefit and joy alike to the sick, because John, restored to himself, was serving the needs and necessities of each one with singular diligence and charity. He was engaged in these things when, on the day on which the memory of the eleven thousand recurs, whose virginal chastity was crowned with the laurel of martyrdom, and watching the funeral of the Empress, as he sat meditating before the doors of the Hospital and reflecting on his labors and the benefits divinely received, he saw an immense funeral procession passing by on horseback, with a great retinue of Clerics and Religious. It was carrying the body of the Empress, who had been married to Charles V while he lived, to be buried in the royal chapel. When John understood this and was spurred by the spectacle, he felt himself immediately kindled by an immense desire to leave the Hospital and finally to carry into effect the vows he had conceived in his mind of serving God in His poor — he is prompted to depart. seeking food and clothing for them,

and receiving the abandoned and pilgrims (for whom, since that region had been recovered from the enemy not so long ago, no hospital had yet been erected in the city) in hospitality.

[27] Pondering these things, he approaches the chief director of the hospital. "May God," he says, "Brother, repay you the charity you have shown me while I remained here sick. He is dismissed by the Superintendent of the Hospital, Now, since by the favor of God I have been made well and am fit to resume work, may I, with your permission, depart from here." "I should have preferred," the director replies, "that you add a few more days for confirming your health, which is still very feeble from your past ills. But lest I seem to oppose your will, go where you please in the name of the Lord, and take this paper written by my hand, by which it may be clear to all that you have been cured of that infirmity for which you were brought here — lest anyone, perhaps doubtful of the state of your mind, should try to bring you back here." This speech greatly delighted John as he humbly received the certificate; for he was glad to leave him in the belief that he had been seized by a real madness. Then, having bid farewell to all in the household, who had begun to be tenderly attached to him, without shoes, without a hat, and nearly without clothes, he undertook a pilgrimage to Guadalupe, and having set out on a difficult journey to Guadalupe, intending to give thanks to his Lady and Patroness for the benefits received from her, and to ask new assistance from her for the new kind of life he was undertaking — she whose present favor in all his distress he always testified to having experienced.

[28] He had to endure many hardships and difficulties on that journey, in hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness. It was wintertime, and very cold indeed; he had no provisions for food, which had to be sought by begging. Yet, that he might not travel idly and that he might deserve the grace of hospitality, he made it his perpetual custom that wherever he entered for food or sleep, he would bring a bundle of firewood collected by himself along the road. And indeed he went directly to the hospital, if there was one there, and left the bundle for the use of the poor; and then he would go forth to beg what would suffice for a meager meal. After he arrived at Guadalupe, he commends himself to God and the Virgin, he entered the church and gave thanks to God on his knees, all suffused with pious tears, and offered Him his present and future needs. Then, having made his confession and been refreshed by the mystery of the Lord's Body, after spending some days there in prayer, he took the road by which he would return to Granada.

CHAPTER VI.

He returns to Granada and establishes a hospital for collecting poor pilgrims and the sick, and helps all the needy indiscriminately.

[28] He had arrived at Baeza on his journey, when he learned that Master Avila was stirring all things there with the fervor of his preaching, as he had done in other cities far and wide. He hastened to him, Encouraged by Avila, he returns to Granada; and John's presence was most welcome to the holy man. After a stay of some days, when he was dismissing him sufficiently and more than sufficiently instructed in his counsels, he said: "Return to Granada, Brother, where the Lord has called you to His service; there He will open the way and the manner by which He wishes you to serve Him. See that you always keep before your eyes Him who never lets you out of His sight. Do all things as if placed in the presence of so great a Lord. When you have arrived at Granada, immediately choose for yourself a Confessor, such as I have taught you to seek, without whose counsel you shall determine nothing, whether of small or great matters. But if anything should happen in which you believe my counsel or help could be useful to you, wherever in the world I may be, write to me there. And I shall see to it that I may never seem to have failed in the charity which I profess I owe you, with the Lord Jesus Christ helping."

[29] he overcomes a temptation of shame; These and similar were the conversations of Avila with John, who, having been dismissed with a favorable blessing, when he had arrived at the city of Granada early in the morning, first attended the sacrifice of the Mass, then climbed the mountain and brought down a bundle of firewood on his shoulders. But the force of embarrassment, which prohibited him from entering the city thus loaded, was so great that he was never able to pass through the Molar Gate, which is far removed from the frequentation of the people. Instead, overcome, he set down the bundle at the house of a certain poor widow who seemed to need it. On the next day, since the cowardice of the previous day disgusted him more than can be imagined, again under the first light, having heard Mass and gone out to the mountain, he brought down another bundle. And when the same bashfulness again pressed upon his spirit at the sight of the city, he spurred himself on and rebuked his body with these words: "So, lazy and idle ass, were you ashamed to enter the city loaded with firewood? I shall see to it that today you lay aside that insolence, and carry the wood right into the middle of the forum before all those who know you."

[30] Now when John appeared in the main square, in which he had never been seen since the time of his simulated madness, he suffers himself to be held in contempt as a half-wit; an immense crowd gathered around him, eager to enjoy the novelty of the spectacle, and there was no lack of those who jokingly said: "What is this new thing, John? Have you become a woodcutter now? And how did things go for you in the Hospital? Who will ever understand this? You change your status and occupation every day." When they said these things, he would dissemble their foolishness with some jocular answer, and returning laughter for laughter, he concealed the grace divinely given to him, and deliberately strove to exhibit himself to men as what they truly believed him to be — a little man of feeble and small brain. And this opinion persisted among the common people, so that whatever he did or said was believed to be remnants of his old madness — until it became manifestly clear what fruit that grain of wheat, hidden and despised in the earth, was bringing forth. For after some days, during which he had been occupied in bringing down firewood from the mountain, he helps the poor with his small earnings, he was not only observed to be sustaining himself with the wages collected by that labor, but also to be generously distributing what was left over to the poor, sought out by night through the streets and crossroads. When he had seen a very great number of these — ulcerous, shivering, naked — whom the cold night had seized under porticos and vestibules of houses, moved by a great feeling of compassion, he resolved to seek some more immediate remedy for their necessities.

CHAPTER XII.

[31] Therefore, having shared his plan with some pious men He erects a Hospital; whom he had found on other occasions to be more benevolently disposed toward him, from their liberality and his own small earnings he scraped together enough money to rent a house in the fish market, not far from the place the people call the Bibarrambla, where he gathered under his roof the poor, sick, and badly off found there and in other places. For their comfort he also purchased some mats of rushes and old bedcovers; and since he had no other medicine to offer them at that time, he would say: "Brothers, give thanks to God, who has granted you a space for penance. having gathered a confessor for them in it Consider within yourselves what you have done to offend Him. I shall fetch a spiritual physician for you, who will cure your spiritual wounds; afterward, medicine for the body will not be lacking for those who trust in the Lord. He Himself will provide, as is His custom, for those who vigorously carry out their part." And without delay he would bring some Priest sought out from somewhere to those who wished to confess their sins; and whoever was asked by him easily followed the man who invited him to so pious a work.

[32] and he provides for their food, After this, courageously extending himself to further things, he would hang a large sack from his shoulder, and seizing two very large pots tied together with ropes, one in each hand, he would go forth shouting: "Who is going to do good to himself? Do good to yourselves for the love of God, Brothers most beloved in Christ Jesus!" Since in these beginnings he went out at night — and indeed many times in the rain, when everyone had already retired inside their houses — people everywhere ran to their doors and windows, roused by the unusual formula of begging. using a new form of asking. And

indeed his voice was by nature suited to moving the feeling of compassion, and when the force of heavenly grace was added to it, it penetrated the inmost heart. Moreover, the very sight of a man so exhausted and badly used, and his widely known rigor of life, moved people's minds not a little, so that very many came out to meet him with their alms — some giving money, others pieces of cloth, others bread, as well as the remains of meat and other dishes, which he collected in the pots prepared for that purpose.

[33] Having gathered what seemed sufficient alms, he hurried back to his poor, and admonishing them to pray to God for their benefactors, he set the food to be reheated over the fire and divided it among them. As the number of the poor increases, When they had been fed and thanks had been given to God, he himself alone would wash the plates and bowls, scour the kettles, sweep the house, and carry in water drawn in two water jugs, with the greatest labor to himself. For since the memory of his madness was still fresh, not a single person dared to join himself to him for the purpose of help; until it gradually became known how much more divine was the spirit by which he was moved than had been commonly supposed. While he was serving the poor with this charity, more and more flocked to him daily, attracted by the fame of the man — besides those whom he sought out and gathered, and those whom he invited to come to him after they had been refused admission elsewhere. And now the narrow house could not hold them all. Therefore he rented another more spacious one and transferred all the sick to it on his own shoulders — as many as could not walk on their feet — together with all the furnishings procured for the comfort of them and the pilgrims.

[34] John's charity, having found a more spacious house, was able to arrange everything more orderly. And so he set apart several rooms for the quieter accommodation of those whom the more violent force of disease pressed upon, he transfers them to more ample quarters; and having obtained helpers sent by God for the care of the sick, he committed to them the domestic duties, while he himself searched for alms and medicines throughout the entire city. The domestic furnishings grew along with John's charity; for the most fitting order by which he bestowed his ministries upon the sick and pilgrims had already begun to be approved among the common people and also among the leading men both within and outside the city, with singular perseverance and daily more illustrious progress. And now more generous alms were being brought in, and many garments for covering both beds and bodies. and extends his charity to others as well: The more copiously these were brought, the more broadly he himself extended his reach, and embraced not only the sick and pilgrims but every kind of wretched humanity: secretly helping more respectable widows and orphans; assisting those in difficult cases under a slow or unjust judge; sustaining soldiers left destitute when their wages were not paid; receiving farmers in need, as in a barren year; and in short, providing to all who were pressed by any necessity whatever each one required, and dismissing no one from his presence without consolation. For to those to whom he could himself give something, he would immediately and cheerfully extend what was at hand; the spirits of others he would soothe with gentle words, and lovingly wiping away their sadness, he would rouse them to place their trust in God. And not in vain: for the Lord usually provided that John should have the means to relieve the need of those who came to him, either wholly or in part.

[35] likewise to virgins and widows, Another would have considered these things great and supreme; to John they seemed small, unless he also zealously sought out those whom shame prevents from seeking a living by begging. Among this number were virgins and women of slender fortune, withdrawn from the tumult out of love for preserving their chastity, whether they were bound by religious vows or had privately imposed upon themselves the law of continence, free from those vows. He looked after the hidden necessities of these women with singular care and solicitude, begging alms from wealthier matrons, with which he procured for them bread, meat, fish, coals, firewood, and the other subsidies necessary for daily living — whom he industriously occupies at home. lest any want of any thing should force them to leave home and abandon the quiet exercise of recollected virtue. Then also, lest they should live idly, but that they might provide for their own clothing from the labor of their own hands, he would procure from merchants silk, wool, linen, and other similar materials, which he would bring to them to be spun into thread or otherwise prepared for weaving uses. He would sit with them a little while and excellently encourage them to endure their labor; then, refreshing them with a spiritual exhortation, he would impress upon all of them with the great weight of his most effective arguments the love of virtue and the hatred of vices — the memory of whose admonitions still lives today in the hearts of many. And he would bid them hope with the most certain faith that, if they did these things, the necessities of life would never be lacking to them.

CHAPTER VII.

He devotes his effort to converting prostitutes.

[36] Paying no heed to the calumnies of the malevolent, It would have been remarkable if so many and so splendid deeds had lacked rivals who would gnaw at him with an envious tooth. For Satan never rests from moving his weapons, whether through himself or through his own, against those who, having withdrawn themselves from his tyranny with generous daring, also strive to extricate others from his snares and to advance both themselves and their neighbor in the worship and love of God. They said, indeed, that this whole edifice, erected without foundations by a little man of known foolishness, would shortly collapse. Furthermore, they searched with suspicious investigation what houses he frequented, what he did or said there. And when they pried into the same things even through secret channels, they returned confounded by their own eyes, stunned and astonished by the example of rare sanctity, the efficacy of his most chaste words, and the splendor of his good works; and they were forced to fall silent even against their will, indeed sometimes even to praise him and to give alms to him when they met. he pursues his undertakings in the most fitting order. Yet John never forgot his own poor, whom he had at home. Around them his principal care was directed: having soothed them with consolatory words and having properly attended to their necessities before leaving the house, he commended them to his companions, distributing the duties of each in the most fitting order and, when he returned, demanding an account of the duty fulfilled — meanwhile, secure in their observance, he was occupied from the tenth hour of the day to the eleventh hour of the night in collecting alms.

CHAPTER XIII.

[37] He who strove to nurture the languishing and needy members of Christ with so great a feeling of compassion: In honor of Christ suffering for their Head, Christ Himself, and His most bitter Passion, he was beyond doubt most tenderly affected. Nor had he found a more efficacious remedy for his own ills than the memory of the Lord's Passion. And therefore, striving to benefit others by the same path that had profited himself, he had designated Friday, the day of the week on which the mystery of our Redemption was accomplished, on Fridays he visits houses of ill repute, for visiting the dwellings of wretched women who shamefully prostituted themselves — if he might perhaps snatch some of them from the diabolical jaws. When he had set foot there, if he noticed one who was of more hardened countenance and less anxious about emerging from that filth, he would first lay hands on that one and say: "Come, and by his own example daughter, and lend me your ear for a while in your room, and I will give you whatever you could obtain from any other." Then, having gained entrance and privacy, bidding her sit down, he would cast himself on the ground on his knees before a small image of the Crucified which he carried about for that purpose; and thus, having begun to accuse himself of his own sins, he would beg pardon for them from God with such copious tears and intense feeling of contrition that he would fill her, too, with a similar sense of sorrow and detestation of her own faults.

[38] By this industry, having made her attentive and listening to him, he would begin to read to her the story of Christ's suffering, in that manner and tone which would draw tears even from the most hardened. He would conclude his reading with these words: "Consider, dearest Sister, consider, I beg you, he invites her to a better life: at what great cost you have stood to your Lord; how much He has suffered so that you would not perish, unless you wished to perish willingly. Consider the eternity both of the rewards which are prepared for the good and of the punishments which are reserved for sinners — among whose number it is enough that you have been until now. Do not so provoke Him that you utterly deserve to be rejected by God and to be dragged down to hell by the weight of your sins.

dragged down to be tortured. Although some, hardened in evil, spurned him when he spoke such things from the suggestion of the Holy Spirit, certain ones were nevertheless moved to penance with God's help, and said that they were indeed ready to follow him to the Hospital, to serve the poor there; but that they were held bound by debts contracted there and would not easily be released, even if they themselves wished it. Then John said: he frees the obedient ones from their debts, "Trust, daughter: He who deigned to illuminate your soul will not deny suitable help to the body also. Only see that you understand how much it is in your interest to serve Him without offense, and by a firm resolution of your mind determine to submit yourself henceforth to death rather than to sin; and meanwhile wait for me, as I shall soon return."

[39] Then he would hasten to those matrons from whom he hoped to receive help, and would say: "Come now, my Sisters most beloved in Jesus Christ, I have just found a wretched woman enslaved to the devil. Help me, I beg you, by contributing your alms, to redeem her from so miserable a servitude." The generosity of the aforesaid matrons was so great that he rarely returned from them without the desired assistance. But if he found no one from whom to seek what was needed, he would bind himself by his own written bond to the pimp, and, taking upon himself the debts of those wretched women, he would lead them to his hospital, he leads them to the Hospital, and place them in that very part of the infirmary where the ulcers and diseases of unfortunate victims from the same sty were treated — so that they might experience and recognize in others what reward the world gives for such shameful services, when they saw some with putrefied bodies, horrible to behold, offering not inconsiderable fragments of bone to the physician for cutting, and others being cauterized in those parts from which adjoining parts had been cut or torn away with the most excruciating sensation of pain. Then he would strive to learn what disposition each one was affected with: for those whom a more copious splendor of heavenly light had illuminated, so that, having recognized the foulness of their life, they chose to expiate its stains by perpetual penance, he consigns them to marriage or to a monastery, he would enclose in some monastery, furnished with all necessary things. Others, whose spirits were not so lofty and who had a greater inclination toward the married state, he would, having obtained a dowry from somewhere, give in marriage. The number of these latter was by far the greatest, to such a degree that on a single occasion — namely, the one on which he had first entered the court for the purpose of collecting alms — he joined sixteen of them in honorable marriages, as certain women testify even today, who are now upright and very well-reputed widows.

[40] he patiently bears the injuries of others. It is incredible to say how many difficulties had to be swallowed in this office of charity, how heroic a patience was needed for them. For since this class of the most abandoned women is for the most part utterly hardened (which is the reason many distinguished servants of God, though grieving over so miserable a ruin, have been deterred from attempting their conversion), as often as he himself drew any one of them out of the mire, so often was he assailed by the insults, abuses, and slanders of the others, who accused him of acting with the worst intention. To these he would not reply a word but continued in silence with the business he had undertaken; nor would he hardly allow them to be rebuked by others who happened to be present at the time, because they were so injurious to a man so zealous in deserving well of them. "Leave them alone," he would say, "leave them alone, lest you snatch my crown from me. They know who I am and what praise I deserve, and they treat me according to my merits." In this kind of thing there occurred a notable event, worthy of being commended to eternal memory — not so much to serve as an example for imitation as for admiration and for recognizing the most fervent charity by which he was carried toward procuring the salvation of souls redeemed by the precious blood of Christ.

[41] A remarkable example of their fickleness Having once gone to the brothel and, finding prostitutes there, urging them to change their lives for the better, four of them rose up by agreement and offered themselves ready to do his will, provided he would arrange for them to be taken to Toledo, where they had been born and had certain business to attend to which, unless completed, would make it impossible for them to renounce their former way of life. John accepted the condition, attracted by the magnitude of the prey presenting itself. He arranged pack animals for transporting the women; he himself with a companion (whose name was John of Avila, a man of the most proven virtue, who had died just a few days before after long service in the house of God, an eyewitness of all) followed on foot. All who saw that procession along the road, thinking them shameless lechers leading such a retinue, vied with each other in jibes and taunts against them, while John kept silence in the meanwhile and steadfastly continued his journey. But the constancy of his companion was not equal to his, as he frequently asked what good he could finally hope for from that journey, on account of which they were a laughingstock to all. He began to complain far more openly when, as they were passing through Almagro, one of the women secretly slipped away — which two others also did as soon as they reached Toledo. Then the servant, with even greater ardor than before, said: "Did I not predict that no trust was to be placed in these abandoned women? Why do we not at least now let them go and turn back?"

[42] "But you," John answered with great patience, "if you were carrying four baskets full of fish from Motril and three of them spoiled along the way, with only one remaining in which the enclosed fish had not at all rotted, and the fruit of that patience. I certainly do not think you would do otherwise than throw away the three and keep the fourth, in which the fish were intact. Since, therefore, one of the four we brought remains with us, retaining her signs of good will thus far, let us patiently bear the loss of the others and return to Granada, led by the certain trust that if this one remains safe for us, our pilgrimage, undertaken for the love of God, will by no means have been in vain." Nor did his hope deceive John: for that woman was joined to an honorable man, then recently a widower because his wife had died. And now, with rare example of virtue and continence, she cultivates a blameless widowhood after the death of her husband, and provides a manifest proof to all the citizens that her path was begun under heavenly auspices, by which God led her to His service and love.

CHAPTER VIII.

The outstanding charity and liberality of John toward the poor.

CHAPTER XIV.

[43] Christ had filled His servant with so great an abundance of charity, Spending the whole day lavishing himself and whatever he had upon the poor, and the works that were performed under its stimulus were so beyond the ordinary manner of acting, that those who considered his actions by any other than the divine Spirit judged him a spendthrift and a wastrel — not knowing that the King had brought him into His cellars (as it is in the Canticles) and there, in him drunk with that heavenly nectar, had ordered charity: so that he could now deny nothing to anyone who asked, but when other things were lacking, he would often give away the garment he was wearing and remain naked himself — pious toward all, while he was so rigid and severe toward himself. Song of Songs 1:4. For repeatedly considering how much he had received from the Lord, he regarded himself as debtor to all. From this arose that holy and anxious solicitude of spending himself in a thousand ways and spending himself beyond measure for the love of Him whom he had perceived to be so munificent toward him. For it is proper to spiritual men that, rich in the abundance of heavenly gifts, they seem to themselves to abound also in earthly goods, from which they can always bestow upon all. And therefore it is more pleasant for them to give something than to receive.

[44] at nightfall he would help the bashful, Having spent the whole day exercised in works of charity, he would return home at nightfall. However tired he was from labor, he never went to bed without first visiting all the sick one by one, asking whether they needed anything, or how they had fared that day — refreshing both body and soul of the languishing with the great sweetness of grateful affability. Then he would go around the outside of the house, and those who were waiting — whose more bashful poverty shunned being recognized — he would by no means dismiss empty-handed, but with fitting consolation. Nor did he anxiously investigate whether the one asking truly needed, not anxious whether they were truly poor. so long as he asked for the love of God. If anyone pointed out that the person was pressed by no necessity, he would say: "That is not my concern; let him see to it himself. For I bestow these things for the love of God." And if, having given away even his own garment to one of the poor, he had wrapped his body in a bedcover and had nothing further he could give, he would hand out a note written in his own hand, to be delivered to some nobleman or pious person, asking them to relieve the present need. In this category, what we are about to relate is especially memorable.

[45] The Marquis of Tarifa investigates this The Marquis of Tarifa, Don Pedro Enríquez de Ribera, happened to be at Toledo. And John, learning of this, had gone to his lodging to ask alms from him, as the Marquis was at that time amusing himself with other noblemen at cards; and he had carried away twenty-two gold coins and was returning joyfully. But the Marquis, well aware that he was little known to John and had been seen by him only this once among many, and desiring to test playfully that charity of his about which he had so often heard so much praised, placed himself in John's path on a dark night, with his identity concealed, and said: "John, Brother, know that I am a foreign Knight and also poor, detained here by a troublesome lawsuit and forced to endure severe want in order to maintain somehow the dignity of my rank. Therefore I, a suppliant, ask you — whose charity I hear is very well known here — he pretends to be poor and receives fifty gold coins: to help me with some money, lest, driven by necessity, I do injury to the Most High."

"So help me God," John replied (for this was the formula of asseveration he used, and both the manner of the petitioner and the way of asking had easily persuaded him that what was said was true), "whatever I have I give to you." And putting his hand into his purse, he offered the Marquis all those very gold coins he had recently received, as the Marquis gave him many thanks for so generous an alms. When the Marquis returned to his fellow players and narrated to them the event just as it had occurred, they could not be sated with praising so lavish a charity: that one who had so great a crowd of poor people to care for, to whom the money might have seemed better able to be distributed, nevertheless had so ready a trust in God that he did not hesitate to spend on one person what would have sufficed for many.

[46] Nor was that trust in vain: for the next day the Marquis sent word that John should not leave home, which he restored to him the next day, as he would come to inspect the Hospital. When he arrived, having deigned to joke amicably with John, he said: "What is this I hear, Brother John — were you robbed last night?" "So help me God," John replies, "no one robbed me." At last, after various exchanges both in jest and in earnest, the Marquis said: "But lest you be able to deny it, what was taken from you by theft, God has caused to come into my hands. with interest. Here are your twenty-five gold ducats, together with fifty-five other crowns of the same metal, which I bestow upon you in the name of alms. But see that you are more cautious in the future." In addition, he ordered to be delivered to him fifty-five loaves of bread, four sheep, and eight chickens — and this every day as long as he remained at Granada. And so he departed with the greatest admiration, having contemplated the great multitude of poor of every kind who were being cared for in the Hospital in so many various ways, each according to their infirmity and need.

[47] On another occasion he demonstrated by a splendid proof how ready he was to fulfill all the measures of perfect charity by laying down his life for his Brothers. He liberates the poor of the Royal Hospital, The Royal Hospital at Granada, founded by the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella, had been seized by a fire so sudden and violent that it had consumed the greater part of it before any help could be brought. John was nevertheless among the first to come to the rescue, more concerned about the poor who were being treated there than about anything else. And so timely was his diligence that many of the sick would have been engulfed by the fire had not John carried nearly all the men and women out on his own shoulders. When he had placed them beyond danger, with a swiftness that seemed more than human, he threw beds, bedcovers, and whatever furnishings he found out through the windows. And finally he ascended to the upper part, where the flames were pressing more violently, and he himself is delivered from the fire. intending to lend his hand and labor to extinguishing the flames. Here a fiery vortex, bursting forth on both sides, seized him in the middle, mixed with smoke so dense that none of the spectators standing below had any doubt that John had become fuel for the flames. And this report was already being circulated through the city, when unexpectedly he was seen leaping out safe, without any sign of burning, except that the flame through which he had to pass had moderately singed his eyebrows — for the greater evidence of the miracle divinely wrought in him. The Corregidor himself bore testimony most worthy of all trust to this event, as he happened to be present in the city at the time and was a spectator of the event, as were very many others.

[48] Many other things of this kind performed during his life could be mentioned, which I prefer to pass over in silence out of a desire for brevity. He admits every class of the needy into the Hospital. I add one thing: that for understanding his unlimited charity, it could have sufficed for anyone to set foot in John's Hospital and see there the innumerable crowd of sick of both sexes, laboring under every kind of affliction — from which no one was excluded, however contagious, however incurable the disease by which they were affected (as is now customary to observe). Not scabby children, not infants secretly left at his door, not fools and the insane — not to mention poor students and those who concealed their poverty out of shame, who were helped privately by him each in their own homes. He also built, with incredible benefit to the poor beggars and pilgrims, a large space in which more than two hundred of them, gathered at night, might warm their cold limbs at a common fire in the middle, with wider benches erected all around, upon which they might lie down to sleep — some on mattresses, some on mats, reclining as each one's need required. This arrangement, besides the outstanding fruit of charity displayed to those wretched ones, also produced this not inconsiderable result: that very many sins were avoided by this means, since men, sought out through public places and brought here separately from women, were sometimes placed against their will beyond the allurements and occasions of sinning.

CHAPTER IX.

John's patience, the new Hospital, and his excursion through the countryside and to the Court.

CHAPTER XV.

[49] John's indefatigable charity was accompanied by an equal patience, which had so armed the breast of this valiant soldier that however great the labors that pressed upon him, no one ever saw him disturbed, no one ever heard an angry word from his mouth. On the contrary, amid the most atrocious injuries he bore a cheerful countenance and spirit, as one who wished nothing different from the will of God and had learned to glory in nothing other than in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. This it is pleasing to make more manifest with some examples. He happened to be descending the street Struck with a slap on the face which takes its name from the Gomelez family, early in the morning, intending to seek food for the poor. Coming up the same street was a nobleman whom, in the crowd of people streaming down from the Alhambra in groups, he was unable to avoid — so that his basket inadvertently knocked the edge of the man's cloak from his shoulders. The hot-tempered knight said: "Boor! Buffoon! Do you not see where or how you are walking?" John turned and replied: "Forgive me, Brother, I did it unintentionally." At this manner of speaking customary to John before all, the nobleman was exceedingly enraged — he who heard himself addressed without any honorific title and called "Brother" by him — and struck him a violent slap on the face. Then John said: "Indeed I have deserved it; give me another on the other cheek." The other, indignant that this was said again without any epithet of respect, he offers the other cheek: signaled to his servants to avenge him on the ill-mannered peasant. They were rushing up to avenge with fists and clubs the injury done to their master, when a certain more honorable person, named John de la Torre, flew up from nearby and exclaimed: "What is this, Brother John of God?" When the man who had done the injury heard the name, he was struck with dismay and voluntarily threw himself at John's feet, refusing to rise until he had kissed them, saying: "Is this John of God, whose praises are spread throughout the whole world?" But John, embracing the man courteously, bade him rise; and each asking the other's pardon, they parted — though the nobleman had vainly invited John to dinner, as he excused himself because necessary business of the poor called him elsewhere. On account of which, fifty gold crowns were sent to him shortly afterward by the same man for the use of the poor.

[50] pushed into the water, he conceals his feelings: He gave another similar example of patience when, having entered the old palace of the Holy Inquisition for the purpose of asking alms — where a pool full of water occupied the middle of the courtyard — a boy from the household met him and, having deliberately collided with him with a more violent push, threw him headlong into the water. For since the time he had been kept among the insane in the royal hospital, the opinion persisted among many that even then he was not using a sufficiently firm brain. But he, not at all indignant but with a cheerful countenance, as if about to give thanks, emerged from the water, to the supreme amazement of all and with no small increase of his reputation among the spectators. he is provoked by insults from an ungrateful woman. A certain one of those women whom he had led away from the brothel and joined in marriage had proceeded to such impudence that whenever she needed something, she would demand it from John as if by right. And he would give, neither slowly nor unwillingly, whatever she asked. It happened, however, that having given his tunic to clothe a poor man, he was wrapped in a cheap cloak, and having nothing to bestow at the moment, he told her to come back the next day. But she, as if she had suffered a most undeserved refusal, began to rage and hurl abuse, calling him a hypocrite and a little saint. To which John said: "Here are two reals for you, that you may go to the marketplace and shout those things about me in a loud voice." And when she nevertheless persisted in her course, he said: "Sooner or later, I ought to forgive you; and so I forgive you from now." The fruit of this patience was that on the very day of his burial, among the other women he had led away from their infamous trade, she went crying through the streets, and accusing herself of many things, she publicly declared her own offenses and John's merits, and by this she provoked many to tears.

CHAPTER XVI.

[51] What shall I now say about John's humility? Only that it was always so great A most humble man. that (while he both spoke and heard of his errors willingly and frequently) if any talk was brought up about his praises, he would immediately either suppress it by diverting the conversation elsewhere, or so turn it that from it the humility of the contempt he sought might grow for himself and the usefulness of a good example for his neighbors — inasmuch as he was the fiercest enemy of vainglory, as of a worm devouring all the shoots of the spiritual life. he moves to a new Hospital. Meanwhile, along with the fame of his virtue and charity, the number of John's poor and sick was increasing, and the house could not contain them — being narrower indeed than was needed for so great a

multitude and so manifold a ministry was needed. Therefore, certain men of the first rank in dignity and probity, having pooled their contributions, purchased for him a very capacious house which had once been a convent of nuns, in the street of the Gomelez family. Into this John transferred all his people, and so arranged everything that henceforth propriety and seemliness would be joined to charity — which could not equally be achieved in those former cramped quarters.

[52] Here, amid the crowded people who often scarcely found room to stand, In what order did he carry out his duties there? John would sit with great patience, hearing everyone, sending them all away furnished with some consolation and refreshed by present or promised help. His custom was to go forth from his cell at first light and to say in a clear voice that could be heard by all: "Come, Brothers, let us give thanks to God, since even the little birds pour them forth in their own way." Then he would lead the form of the prayer that was to follow, and soon the Sacristan would follow, explaining through a window from which he could be understood by all a heading of Christian Doctrine; the same thing another person did among the pilgrims in the hall. And before these departed, John would go down to greet and visit them, and among the poorly clothed, if any were present, he would distribute the garments of the dead. He would invite the more robust young men to serve with him the poor of Christ; and so he would go up the mountain with them to collect firewood, from which each one carried a bundle on his own shoulders to the hospital — which was done daily by most with great charity.

[53] at what cost? The expenditures for these services of charity were so great that the alms which the opulent and generous city supplied could not suffice for them, unless he often borrowed three hundred or even four hundred gold coins to relieve the necessities of the poor. But because this could not be perpetual either, and the citizens of the single city of Granada were not to be excessively burdened with alms to be contributed night and day, in order to give them some respite, he would go out and, traveling about variously through Baetica, make the rounds of the houses of great men known to him, he makes excursions through the countryside to relieve these costs; in which his excellent works, famous throughout all Castile, had made him not unknown; whence he brought back copious money, which sufficed for paying off debts and redeeming pledges. The first among the Castilian great men who deserves to be mentioned as benefactor to our John is the Duke of Sessa, who from his very childhood so favored the poor and their Hospital that on various occasions he alone discharged all the debts that had been contracted at Granada, besides the immense supply of shirts and shoes which he provided at each feast day for clothing and shoeing the needy — using as his associate and helper his most excellent wife, who was wonderfully favorable to our affairs. Therefore John took no less care to commend them both to God as frequently as possible through his own prayers and those of his poor.

[54] likewise to Valladolid, Nevertheless, the magnitude of his debt from time to time pressed John so greatly — with his charity driving him no less urgently in the meantime — that he found it necessary to travel to Valladolid, to the King and the great men of the court, leaving the vicarious administration of the Hospital to his friend and companion on his travels, Antonio Martín. At that time the Count of Tendilla was in favor at court; he and others to whom John's deeds were known procured for him access to the King, whom John is said to have addressed in this manner: "Indeed, my Lord, it is my custom to call all men my Brothers in Christ. But since I acknowledge you as my King and Lord, whom it is fitting for me to obey, it is also proper that I should know by what name you wish to be called by me." "Whatever you wish," he replies — being at that time, while his father Charles was still living, merely Prince of Spain. "Then I shall call you Good Prince," where he is kindly received by Philip II, said John. "May God grant you a good beginning of your reign, and likewise extend the right hand of His protection to your governance, and finally a blessed end, so that you may be eternally saved and possess the heavenly kingdom." After listening to him for some time and questioning him kindly, a generous alms from the Prince followed; and similar ones he often received from the Princesses, the King's Sisters, whom he visited daily — as well as from the young ladies and matrons appointed to their honorable service, besides necklaces and gems, the price obtained from which he distributed entirely to the poor of Valladolid.

[55] For all the time John was at Valladolid, he had generous lodging with Doña María de Mendoza, a guest with Doña María Mendoza; formerly the wife of the Grand Commander Don Francisco de los Cobos — whose most praiseworthy life, after she was bereft of her husband, was also adorned by God with singular and uncommon prerogatives of grace; and her generosity poured out toward the poor is celebrated, by which she spent a truly opulent patrimony on them, establishing Hospitals with a copious annual income of money, enriching the convents of needy nuns, and making the greatest alms besides, and performing such works of charity as would be long to enumerate. This generosity of the most noble matron, I say, never allowed John to lodge anywhere else, and she distributed all she received there. but amply supplied him with everything necessary for food and bed. He took advantage of this occasion and of the alms gathered from that house and elsewhere so splendidly, distributing everything among the more bashful poor, that he counted at Valladolid hardly fewer families of that kind, and people of both sexes to be visited and fed, than at Granada. When some who knew him better noticed this and asked why he did not save that money to distribute to the poor at Granada, he said: "It matters not whether here or at Granada, so long as I do well to God in both places, in His members."

CHAPTER X.

The great severity of John toward himself.

[57] He returns to Granada Nine months passed for John during his stay at Valladolid, after which he took nothing away with him except bills of exchange in the name of alms from Doña María de Mendoza and from the Marquis of Mondéjar, and from other great men, for the sustenance of the poor and the payment of debts. His return to Granada was especially laborious, however: for since he always traveled with bare feet, and the road had to be taken through rough and rugged places, he bore the same feet, repeatedly struck against stones and opened by the frequent impact; through the greatest hardships, enduring no lesser discomforts on the rest of his body, because he was covered by a harsh and rough garment without the use of a shirt. In addition, because he always walked with his head uncovered under the most burning sun, he returned to Granada (whither the immense desire to see his poor again drew him) wretchedly disfigured, with his face and neck nearly flayed. Nevertheless, his return was received with no less rejoicing by the city — indeed by the entire territory — especially by the poor, and above all by those whose poverty he was accustomed to sustain secretly, sparing their modesty, as well as by the women he had placed in marriage, for whom the absence of their father and consoler had been exceedingly distressing. Upon his return to Granada, his first care was to discharge a portion of the debts and he contracts new debts. with the money he brought from the court; and to relieve the necessities, which he found to be new and many, especially concerning the needy who required a dowry for usefully contracting marriages. Yet he could not satisfy everyone without remaining bound by a debt of four hundred gold coins; for in order to attend to the necessities we have mentioned, he had entangled himself in new obligations, since his immense charity would not suffer any want anywhere to be without a remedy. Thus placed in a tight spot, he endured many worries and many anxieties, hoping to see all his accounts clear and settled someday — which was made difficult, indeed impossible, on the other hand, by his prodigal liberality toward every occasion that presented itself.

CHAPTER XVII.

[58] These cares, and the labors that accompanied them of collecting alms for the food of the poor, His immense zeal for afflicting the body: joined with the importune and continuous interruption of those demanding assistance, could have sufficed to exhaust a body, however vigorous and robust almost beyond human strength. Yet not content with these, John additionally afflicted and tormented his flesh in various ways, and in order to keep it subject to the spirit, he often even withdrew from it the necessities. He refreshed himself with a single and indeed frugal meal; and unless he happened to eat at another's house, for the spiritual consolation of those whose temporal goods he was seeking, he was always content with the cheapest food — which was usually a roasted onion or something similar of no greater value. The fast days prescribed by the Church he observed so strictly that beyond a modest meal at midday, he would never admit anything at supper. On all Fridays he ate only bread and water, and he raged against his flesh with knotted cords and copious shedding of blood, however tired he might be from traveling or labor.

[59] bed, The roughness of his bed was equal: he had none other than a mat spread on the bare ground, using a stone for a pillow and a worn-out cloak in place of a bedcover. Sometimes, however, he used the conveyance of some poor person deprived of the ability to walk, in the most cramped room beneath the domestic stairs. His entire clothing was a woolen tunic with breeches; and the manner of his dress. the rest was absent. His chin and head were always shaved, and he never covered his head at any time, whatever weather the air brought. And in the same manner,

no fatigue or difficulty of the journey could induce him to use shoes, either within or outside the city, from the time he devoted himself to the service of God until the day of his most blessed death. And yet he who was so hard and severe toward himself felt such tender compassion for the least discomforts of his neighbor that he could have been believed to have been raised in the greatest luxury.

[60] Having collapsed with a poor man into the water It happened that on a certain winter night, which was dark and rainy, as he was returning to his hospital through the Gomelez street, laden with a sack of food and a poor little man whom he had chanced to find in the new market, such a great stream of water was rushing down through the very street that his footing failed him and both he and the man he was carrying on his back fell together to the ground. At the sound of the water receiving those who had fallen with a splash, and at the poor man's groans, a very rich and honored man ran to look through his window to see what was happening, and heard John quarreling with himself thus: "Is that so, Master Donkey? he harshly rebukes himself. Are you so lazy and idle today, as if you had eaten nothing? And if you have been fed, why do you not consider the poor for whom you labor, who are waiting for you so that they may have something to eat? And this man whom you had picked up as one near death, and whom you have now so foully dropped — was it not fitting for you to have pity on him?" Having said this, briskly raising the knees he had until then held fixed on the ground, he returned home through water covering him to the middle of his shins. He had spoken, moreover, in so moderately raised a voice that the man who witnessed this event said it could not have been heard by anyone except himself alone, beneath whose window he had fallen — and when that man asked him the next day about the nocturnal fall, he declined to reveal anything, giving an evasive reply. And it was generally his custom that wherever he found some sick beggar, without waiting for anyone's help, he would lift him onto his shoulders and with great labor carry him to the Hospital, feeble and faint as he himself was.

[61] He is given the surname "of God," It is worth noting here that there was no lack of mystery in either the form of his habit or his customary surname "of God." For although the sanctity of the man who adopted such a habit and appellation for himself could have sufficed to commend both, it nevertheless pleased the Lord to add something more of authority to both, on the occasion that follows. Our John was dining at the table of the Bishop of Tuy, who happened to be residing at Granada at the time, and when asked his name, he had answered that it was John. The Bishop said to him: "You shall henceforth be called John of God." "If it shall have pleased God," John replied. And from that time he bore that surname among all. Similarly, it was his custom, when he gave his clothes to a poor person, to take that person's rags for himself. and to assume a definite habit. The Bishop, once observing him not only thinly and uncomfortably dressed but even indecorously, said: "By your life, Brother John of God — since you received a name from me, receive also the form of a habit. For the one you wear causes nausea and annoyance to those who wish to deal with you out of devotion and to sit at table with you. You shall therefore wear these three things: a tunic and breeches of coarser cloth, with a short cloak." Immediately, not daring to resist the commands, the Bishop ordered the garments he had named to be purchased, and having blessed them, he also lent his hand when John put them on. That habit John never afterward changed.

CHAPTER XI.

The prayers, temptations, zeal of John, and the grace of prophecy.

CHAPTER XVIII.

[62] As for his devotion to praying to God, although by the will of God who called him, he was occupied for the greater part of his time with the works of Martha, Most devoted to the pursuit of prayer he did not entirely set aside the duties of Mary; but whatever free time from work he found, he gave entirely to prayer and meditation — so that he often spent entire nights with tears and groans, while he begged from God mercy for sinners and help for the needs of the poor which he had before his eyes, well knowing this to be the principal anchor of our hope and the foundation of the entire spiritual life. And so he never undertook anything that he had not first commended to God with much prayer, by which he was formidable to the demons and victorious in all the contests which, in both visible and invisible ways, he engaged with the enemy — and which were many and indeed difficult for him. We shall here bring forth a few specimens, as monuments of a noble victory won over Satan through the Lord.

[63] One night, while keeping vigil in prayer, he was heard by one of the domestic servants sleeping nearby the demon once in a horrible form, to be uttering immense groans as if wrestling with someone. The attendant ran to the unusual noise and found him on his knees and streaming with sweat on all sides. Moreover, he heard these words: "May Jesus deliver me from the power of Satan; may Jesus persevere with me." At these words the attendant turned toward the small window through which there was a view into the street and saw a beast of terrible form; and, suspecting not without reason that it was a demon, he awakened the other servants, saying: "Do you not see that demon thrown out through the window, vomiting flames?" But although they turned the same way, they could see nothing at all, and the demon soon disappeared. The servants laid down John, who was sick, badly battered, and quite bruised, in his bed, in which he lay for some days, revealing nothing of what had happened to anyone, except that he was sometimes heard to say while fortifying himself with the sign of the Cross: "Did you think, traitor, that I would abandon the work I had begun?"

[64] again in the form of a woman, On another occasion, kneeling in the same room which was securely closed, he saw before him a woman of attractive form and asked by what way she had entered. When she answered that she needed no door, since she could go wherever she pleased, he said: "Unless you are a demon, you certainly cannot." And rising and finding the door closed as he had left it, looking back he saw nothing more; and therefore going down to the quarters of the sick, he said: "Will you not pray for me, Brothers, that God may be with me." thirdly simulating a pig; It also happened that John went out from the house in the dead of night, and the demon in the form of a pig met him. Thrusting itself between his legs, it not only threw the blessed man to the ground but did not allow him to rise, pushing him with its snout and trampling him with its feet, rolling him about in the mud for nearly an entire hour — until a Doctor of Medicine named Bertrand came out from the neighborhood. When he asked what had happened, John answered that he knew nothing else except that he had been pushed by someone and thrown to the ground and rolled through the mud. And although the doctor offered him his own house for his recovery, he nevertheless wished to be carried to his poor, where he remained sick for more than a month, disfigured in his face and debilitated in his whole body.

[65] and a fourth time, There was also a time when, leaving a certain infirmary through a door near the stairs, he felt himself pushed by an invisible hand and hurled headlong down the stairs to the floor, crying out: "May Jesus help me!" The servants, roused by the noise, found him collapsed, and brought him back to his room, where he lovingly embraced the image of the Crucified and began to adore it, not without tears and pious words. There was a time when, walking about at night for the purpose of asking alms, he encountered a man who, begging for some charitable contribution — when John asked in whose name he was asking — fell silent and disappeared. And appearing again in the street, he asked angrily why John would not give alms to him when he asked. "Because you refused to ask for the love of Christ," John said, "I could give you nothing." And immediately he felt his chest struck by a great blow from the one who was vanishing, so that he was driven back several paces.

[66] and a fifth time does him great harm. Furthermore, one night while praying in his cell, he cried out as loudly as he could: "Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, help me!" The servants immediately came at his cry, opened the door, and found him prostrate on his knees before the image of the Lord's Incarnation, clasping a cross with his arms. When asked what had happened, he said: "They lifted me into the air, and after dragging me here and there, they let me fall back to the ground with a heavy crash." Meanwhile, carried to the common infirmary of the poor, he was placed in a bed He reveals the hidden sins of a certain person: in which a certain sick man had already been lying for eight days, tormented in strange ways. To him, while John was still in possession of his senses, John said the next morning: "Tell me, traitor, why do you not confess the truth? Do you not see the demon prepared to carry your soul from here to hell?" When the man asked how he knew this, John replied: "I know it; and so that you may know that I know, I tell you that you are entangled in a double marriage, with both wives still living; and furthermore that you are polluted by the sodomitic crime, which you were ashamed to set forth in confession. Confess, therefore, the crimes which you see are manifest to God, so that your soul may be saved." The sick man heard and was dumbfounded, certain that there was no mortal in the world besides himself who could know this by human knowledge. He urgently asked that a Confessor be brought to him, and John brought one from the family of Saint Francis. After he had set forth his sins to him and been fortified with the holy viaticum, he ceased to live, leaving a great hope of his salvation among those who rejoiced to have seen the sincere contrition of the dying man demonstrated by many and clear signs.

[67] And this grace of knowing secrets was neither uncommon nor infrequent in him, whenever it was conducive to the salvation of those sick people whose

souls God had commended to him; and it greatly availed to persuade them to rise from their sins. This we read was granted also to many other Saints, and that it was granted to this Blessed man of whom we are treating likewise of a despairing woman: will also be made manifest by the following story, for which I have witnesses most worthy of trust. There was in the same Hospital a sick woman, sound in judgment in other respects but insane in this one thing: that she demanded with importunate cries to be dragged through the place called the Bibarrambla. And when, in answer to John's inquiry about the cause of her cries, she said she wanted the same thing, he said: "First cast the demon out of your soul, and then, I think, you will no longer wish to be dragged about. For I know that you have been living in adultery for ten years." And she replied: "And I know that for the same number of years I have not gone to confession." But with John encouraging her and settling her disturbed mind, she confessed her sin to a Priest he foreknows the death of others. and shortly afterward died a Christian death. Similarly, on another occasion when John was lying sick, he roused one of the attendants of the infirmary and ordered him to go up into the hall that overlooked the room in which he was lying, to place a blessed candle in the hand of a boy who was dying. The attendant was all the more amazed to have found things so, because he knew the boy had been brought to that place without John's knowledge. Similarly, a certain devout person narrates that he said between Friday and Saturday that he would depart this life; and so it happened, as he died after midnight. No less truly did he predict on another occasion that there would be many throughout the world who, wearing the same habit as he, would minister to the poor — which we see fulfilled in deed, and will be spoken of below.

CHAPTER XIX.

[68] From the most ardent love with which John was borne toward God, He so succors bodies as always to benefit souls. there arose an exceedingly fervent zeal for promoting the divine honor among all creatures, which he had as the sole aim of all his actions. And so the care he bestowed on bodies served for healing souls, as a means to an end; nor did he ever look after anyone's temporal necessity without also providing for their soul, as best he could and the matter required, with holy and pious admonitions — directing all into the way of salvation, and preaching by deeds more than by words contempt for the world and all worldly vanity, and the absolute necessity of taking up one's cross and following Christ. As was clearly manifest throughout the entire course of his life, and from the remarkable long-suffering with which, like a good merchant, he patiently bore any injury and annoyance whatsoever, provided he might derive from it some spiritual profit tending to the praise of God. Although this could be illustrated by very many examples, only one here

shines for all: and therefore, since not all were equally upright, by what right could they be removed from the very house of God, especially when already deprived of every other refuge and consolation? This response, combined with a tender affection toward the poor — taking all blame from the poor upon himself — was so pleasing to the Archbishop that, refreshed by such great virtue, he said: and feeling that he is dying, "Go, blessed of God, go in peace, and dispose of the Hospital as of your own house, by the authority granted to you by me in express words." So John returned, and when he felt the growing force of the disease (for shortly afterward, perceiving first a feverish chill, then heat, he easily judged what was threatening him), he gathered whatever strength remained to him into one effort, and with the Lord sustaining him for the time being, he brought out from the house a paper notebook with the rest of his writing materials and a scribe, and going to the houses of each one individually with whom he had any debt, he settles his accounts. he had their names and the reckoning of the debt — which had already slipped from the memory of some — written down; and then transferred into another notebook, so that since there would be two copies — one of which he would keep with himself, the other he would leave at the Hospital — the accounts already drawn up would be safe from the danger of perishing, even if one of the books should perhaps be lost.

[74] And this was his testament. When it was written up, he returned to his cell so exhausted Various persons visit him as he lies ill. that, no longer able to stand on his feet, he was forced to lie upon his bed, from where he continued to help the poor by means of written notes, not even then relinquishing his care for them — with such success that everything proceeded in the same order as before, because the citizens of Granada and the leading men, having learned of his illness, amply sent what was necessary and voluntarily encouraged his companion Antonio Martín not to refuse to take the place of the ailing John. But Doña Anna Osorio, the wife of García de Pisa, one of the twenty-four aldermen, whom John loved greatly on account of the singular virtues of her most Christian life, Anna Osorio persuades him to let himself be carried to her house, as soon as she received news of his illness, came to the Hospital for the purpose of visiting and consoling him. Seeing in what great pains he lay, how little relief he enjoyed from another's charity, and how little rest so many poor people crowding around him from every side left him, she most insistently asked that he allow himself to be transferred to a house where a bed would be made for him and whatever was suited to such an illness and time would be supplied; for until then he had been lying on boards with his cloak placed under his neck for a pillow.

[75] He excused himself as best he could from being taken away from the company of his poor, among whom he had always desired to die and be buried; in vain as the poor crowd around him; but at last pious importunity prevailed, when Anna said it was fitting that one who had always been a preacher of obedience to others should now give an example of that virtue himself, when what was so conformable to reason was being asked of him for the love of God. And so a chair was brought, and when he had been placed in it and it became known throughout the Hospital that John was about to be carried away, all the sick who could do so rose up, and surrounding the chair, they tried to hold him back — men and women alike with confused groans, wails, and tears — so that no one's breast was so made of iron that it was not moved to tears by such lamentation and weeping. And he himself, hearing these things, shed copious tears, and lifting his eyes to heaven with a sigh, he said: "God knows, my Brothers, that I have no greater wish than to lay down my life in your sight and embrace. But since it has seemed otherwise to God, let His will be done." Then, bestowing his blessing upon each one, he said: "Remain in peace, little children; and if we may not see each other hereafter, pray to God for me."

[76] from whom he is torn away with the greatest grief, At these words, tears, sighs, and groans were renewed, which so pervaded the most pious heart of John — made, as it were, by nature for compassion — that his senses and spirit failed him in the very chair. After he seemed to have somewhat recovered his breath, lest he be tortured longer by the sight of the beloved place and crowd, they carried John in the chair to the house of the aforesaid matron. There, although he had never until then changed his harsh and most poor regimen of food and clothing on account of any illness or cause, he nevertheless began to comply with those who asked in all things, so as to leave an example of obedience to his followers, he who had given so many proofs of holy severity toward himself. Therefore, allowing himself to be clothed in a shirt, he was placed on a soft bed; and physicians and medicines began to be applied with great charity and solicitude. henceforth to be under another's authority. Then many of the nobility began to flock to visit him, vying with each other to offer the services and comforts by which the sick are customarily refreshed. But these could not refresh the spirit of John, who was thinking that on their account he had been deprived of the most sweet conversation and sight of the poor — none of whom was allowed to come to him (because at the sight of any of them he would immediately dissolve into tears), since a guard had been placed at the door to prevent this. Only the charity with which these things were done could touch John, who measured all things by charity.

CHAPTER XIII.

The death and funeral of Blessed John of God.

[77] The Archbishop visits John, The Archbishop also, when report of the matter was brought to him, wished to be among those who visited him, and to encourage him with holy and friendly admonitions for the final journey. At last, in conclusion, he asked if there was anything that could cause him distress and for which his care could find a remedy. Then John said: "My Father and excellent Shepherd, there are three things which particularly distress me now. First, that having received such great benefits from God, I have repaid Him with such imperfect service. Second is the memory of the poor — both the more bashful ones and those who have been brought back from their sins to a better life — whom I commend to you from my heart. Third are these debts which I have contracted in God's cause." And at the same time he put his hand to his pillow and brought out the notebook in which he had them recorded for such an occasion, and handed it to the Bishop. But the Prelate said: and takes his debts upon himself. "As for the first matter, you need great trust in the Lord, who through the merits of His Passion will be able to supply all your deficiencies. The poor I take into my care and protection. As for the debts you mention, they are all mine to discharge, and I promise that I shall do this with the same care as you yourself would, if you could. Therefore dismiss all worry and attend only to your salvation." Having said and promised these things, the Archbishop left John wonderfully refreshed, and having fortified him with his blessing after kissing his hand, he went directly from there to the Hospital.

[78] He dies piously, Meanwhile the sick man was approaching his end. He who had been accustomed to submit all the blemishes of his soul to the most scrupulous judgment through the Sacrament of Penance now purified himself for the last time by that same protection, and humbly adored Christ present in the Eucharist and brought to him, being compelled to abstain from receiving it because of the severity of the disease. Then, summoning Antonio Martín to that place, he earnestly commended to him the poor and orphans, admonishing him of his duty with words breathing sanctity. Finally, perceiving that his end was imminent, he rose from the bed and placed himself on his knees on the ground, clasping tightly an image of Christ crucified, and fixed in silent contemplation of his Savior for a short space of time, after which he burst forth in a full and intelligible voice with these words: "Jesus, Jesus, into your hands I commend myself." And thus he rendered his spirit to his Creator in the fifty-fifth year of his age, the twelfth after he had begun to minister to the poor in the Hospital at Granada.

[79] the body remains kneeling, A prodigious thing followed his death — and I know not whether it has been observed in any Saint (if you except Paul the first Hermit). For the body of the deceased remained erect on its knees for a quarter of an hour, just as it was, and would have remained so to this day had the simple piety of those who were present at his death permitted it. For they, thinking it unseemly if the body should stiffen in that position, extended the bent knees with great effort so as to compose the corpse decently in the customary manner. and composed, Many of the leading matrons of the city were present, and four Priests; and they could not fill their souls with giving thanks to God, who had given His servant a death so conformable to the life he had led, which he underwent at the beginning of the Sabbath day, at the middle hour after the Matins prayers had been chanted, on the eighth of March, in the year of the common Era one thousand five hundred and fifty.

CHAPTER XXI.

[80] Furthermore, in the death of John of God, one could see fulfilled what the Savior predicted in the Gospel according to Matthew: with a most honorable funeral, "He who humbles himself shall be exalted." Matt. 23:12 For just as he himself had devoted the entire time after his conversion to that single pursuit by which he might find greater humiliation and abjection for himself in all things, as was evident from the course of his Life; so God took care that he should be exalted and honored both in life and in death. Certainly such great honor of obsequies was paid to his body as would scarcely be paid to any Prince, Emperor, or Monarch. For although at their funerals a more frequent multitude and a much more ample nobility may have concurred, yet this was done almost always either to satisfy the laws of the court, or to court the favor of a successor, or even by those who were unwilling and compelled by force. But all who flocked to pay the last rites to John of God — as soon as his death became generally known, he who had been until then vile and despised, possessing none of those ornaments by which the world measures human greatness — were drawn solely by the esteem of virtue, the true and only parent of honor that is not feigned.

[81] he is borne by the great men and Religious. Therefore, as soon as the body was decently composed upon the bed, adorned with great care and expense, three altars were erected in the same hall, at which a great number of sacrifices began to be continuously completed by Priests, both Clerics and Regulars, summoned from the entire city, from the very hour of his death until the time of burial. When this arrived on the next day, the streets could scarcely contain the crowd stirred up from every quarter.

The body was borne with the greatest honor, carried on the shoulders of the Marquis of Tarifa, the Marquis of Cerralbo, Don Pedro de Bobadilla, and Don Juan de Guevara. When they had come out of the house of mourning, a rivalry began among the Religious as to who would first receive the body on their shoulders; and a Franciscan Priest named Cárcamo obtained for his Order what he sought, saying that the body should most justly be given to none other than to those whose Founder's extreme poverty and zeal for penance John had most closely imitated while he lived. Description of the funeral procession, After the Franciscans, others and yet others succeeded in turn, until they came to the Church of Saint Mary of the Victory. The Corregidor meanwhile, with his retinue, was ordering everything and pushing back the crowd to make room for the procession, which advanced in the manner we now describe.

[82] The first rank was occupied by the poor of the Hospital itself; whom followed the women placed in marriage by John; widows also, and young women sustained by his alms — all carrying their candle and commemorating with genuine tears the benefits conferred upon them by him. After these, all the confraternities of the city — of which there are very many — received them in fine order with their torches, crosses, and banners, then the Clerics and Religious of all Orders; then the Parochial Cross with its own Clerics, and finally the College of Canons and men conspicuous for Ecclesiastical dignity, likewise under the standard of their own cross; and the Archbishop with the ministers of the Royal Chapel followed. Next to these was the body; behind it followed the Twenty-four Aldermen, the Jurors, the Knights, and the rest of the Nobility, then the ministers and advocates of the Royal tribunal, and finally the infinite common people of both sexes. composed of every sex, order, and condition: For the sense of this death pertained not only to the old Christians, but also to the remnants of the Moorish nation, from whom could be heard in their barbarian language the alms bestowed upon their people and the examples of a holier life left for their benefit by the same man. The bells of the metropolitan Church itself and of all the parishes and monasteries, resounding throughout the entire city, seemed to sound something sadder than usual.

[83] the gathering for the burial of the body was immense: They had arrived at the open area before the gate through which one enters the aforesaid Church of Saint Mary of the Victory. Here they had to halt for some time with the body, as the multitude — as if it would never see him again — blocked every approach and could be prevented by no force or reason from pressing forward to the very corpse in rivalry, intending to consecrate rosaries, prayer books, and other small objects by contact with the blessed body. So eager were they to obtain something that would serve them as relics that if they had not at last been restrained and given way for the funeral to be brought in, they would have torn apart the bier itself. When the funeral was brought into the church, it was placed on a bier raised high on a platform, as the remaining Brothers of the convent who had waited at home came to meet it with their General, the rites performed in the church of the Minim Fathers: who happened to be present at the time. Through him a Mass was chanted with solemn rite, while another of the same Order preached a sermon on the virtue of humility and contempt for the world, through which God is accustomed to raise His servants to true eminence. Many sacrifices were then performed on the same day; very many candles and torches burned — while under a certain vault in the chapel of Don García de Pisa, belonging to the right of that matron in whose house John had exchanged life for death, the body was entombed. On the two days that immediately followed, Sunday and Monday, everything was performed in the same order: Mass, sermon, and private sacred rites; nor was any public oration delivered that year at Granada which did not mention John of God with praise.

[84] Twenty years after this, certain leading men who entered the burial vault found the body intact, the body intact after twenty years. consumed only at the tip of the nose — not without great admiration, persuaded that by this and other signs the divine Majesty had wished to manifest the eternal glory, which he now enjoys, which Scripture says is prepared for those who love God. May the same benign God also direct us thither, so that, having imitated the life and works of John to the best of our ability, we may deserve to be partakers of the same glory, through all ages of ages. Amen.

CHAPTER XIV.

The state of the Hospital and the Brothers after the death of John of God.

CHAPTER XXII.

[85] We have already said above by what arrangement, before John departed this life, the Hospital was committed to his companion Antonio Martín to be governed and cared for. He, instructed by the excellent admonitions and examples of his Master, undertook and exercised that administration with great charity, Antonio Martín, having taken up the governance, remaining in the Hospital for a considerable number of days — until, pressed by domestic necessity, he set out for the court, intending to seek from the great men subsidies for continuing the works of mercy he had undertaken. Here, pious men persuaded him to erect also at Madrid a Hospital of his institute, for the more convenient treatment of the poor sick, having traveled to Madrid, he founded a Hospital there, and offered their help for that purpose. Using this most willingly, he began it in the place where it now stands, as ample and sumptuous as it is seen today, and it is called the Hospital of Antonio Martín. In it a great number of sick are treated and many Brothers of this Order reside, in all things similar to those at Granada, except that the color of their clothing is somewhat darker and they carry their sack not over their shoulders but under their arm — "Lest," he would say, "we collide with Knights and leading men, of whom there is a great crowd there, and with whom we must necessarily and frequently deal."

[86] Having begun the work and splendidly arranged it for its future perfection, Antonio returned again to Granada, bringing an enormous supply of linen and woolen clothing and many monetary alms for the use of the Hospital. When he had rendered an account of his new undertaking to Archbishop Pedro, he asked and obtained and he dies with a reputation for sanctity. permission to return whence he had come, where, joining holy works of hospitality with much rigor of penance, he persevered to the end of his life. When this was happily completed, all the leading men of the royal court came running to honor his funeral, and they saw to it that he was buried in a certain principal chapel of the monastery of Saint Francis at Madrid, where he rests in the Lord. The Brothers at Granada, After his departure (to return to the point where the narrative digressed), the remaining Brothers stayed in the Hospital, and as such worthy disciples of a master of such consummate sanctity, it is worthwhile to know the course of their life and what was done by them afterward. For they governed and administered all things in precisely the manner and order in which they had seen their father do it, subject to one person as to a superior, whom they called the Elder Brother.

[87] too closely confined, The multitude of the poor flocking to the Hospital was very great, suffering from every kind of disease, and no one was denied access (which has been the particular characteristic of this Hospital both now and from the beginning) — to such a degree that the place, too narrow for the purpose, could not contain the crowd, and it was judged absolutely necessary to find a more capacious shelter elsewhere. So the Brothers ran to the most generous Archbishop, laying before him how greatly they were pressed by necessity.

They laid the matter before him and easily persuaded him to consider a remedy, having examined the state of affairs. Looking carefully at what location a suitable place might be found, close to the city yet outside it for the sake of healthier air, he was pleased with the place where the Hospital now stands, the Archbishop obtains a more spacious location; near the grounds of the Hieronymite Brothers, where an old monastery of Saint Jerome was said to have been. Having conferred with the civil Magistracy and the Brothers already named, he prevailed upon each of them to cede the right they claimed to have over the area in which the new Hospital would be built. He himself would generously contribute from his own funds as much as he could; the remainder would be taken from the alms of the faithful to be collected for this purpose. The Brothers also contributed a certain sum of money which the Bishop of Guadix, Don Antonio de Guevara y Avillaneda, had bequeathed in his will to be expended in this city on pious works — for no more pious work could be imagined on which to spend it.

[88] where the Hospital is built, When these things were thus concluded, hands were immediately put to the work, and the Archbishop counted out one thousand six hundred ducats, to which an enormous quantity of alms from the citizens was added, with Avila as the encourager — who happened to be present at the time preaching, and like a second Moses invited the people to a spontaneous contribution for the construction of the tabernacle. Some brought notable sums of money, others the things necessary for the sustenance of the workers; while the women vied with each other in tearing off their bracelets, earrings, rings, and garments of every kind — with such ardor of spirit that, as the work progressed happily, the three sides which now exist were raised. So that the poor might be transferred as quickly as possible, the Archbishop supplied the money and it is nearly completed. by which doors and window shutters, and the rest of the wooden fixtures necessary for the entire house, were added. The devil, however, the sower of tares, provided the reason for the work not being completely finished, stirring up lawsuits between our Brothers and the Hieronymite Fathers, which are dragged on undecided to this very day, and which are not to be discussed by me in this place but left to the judgment of God and the judges — upon whose will it depends that the discord be soon ended, since it impedes very many good works.

CHAPTER XXIII.

[89] But leaving these things aside, let us return to John, who left such examples after himself, The followers of Blessed John, and who pleased all to such a degree that very many were animated to follow in his footsteps, ministering to God in the poor and exercising the works of hospitality out of love for Him. Since for these works neither much learning nor study is needed, but rather a robust contempt for human affairs, the love of God, and charity toward one's neighbor, it is easy to find many fit for them, of whatever age or condition, who might be less suited to other Orders. The manner of receiving these is as follows. how they were admitted into the Order, When their firm will for the service of God is known and their sincere intention for what they seek is proven, they are received into the Hospital, and there in a decent habit they minister to the poor in whatever office is assigned to them, for some period of time — two, three, and sometimes six years, as is judged necessary — so that in all humility and decency they may be judged worthy of the habit, which they humbly ask for and receive from the Greater. In this they serve for a considerable number of years until they are deemed worthy of being admitted to Profession, as will be more fully declared in the Constitutions of the Order to be set forth later.

[90] There are moreover at Granada usually eighteen or twenty Brothers: How do they serve the Hospitals? of whom some are occupied in the infirmaries caring for the poor; others perform domestic duties; others, dispersed through the city — which they have divided into parishes — collect alms; and others are distributed through the suburban countryside and neighboring territories, whence they bring wheat, barley, cheese, oil, raisins, and other necessities. By this industry and labor they ensure that sufficient alms are brought in to sustain the Hospital, together with a small annual income of money by which it is supported, the Lord kindly providing for all things — so that it has been the custom here to have one hundred and twenty beds made up, and thirty servants besides the Brothers, The Hospital of Granada excludes no one: as well as other persons as needed from time to time. In more calamitous times, however, you may see three hundred or four hundred beds of the sick, for all of whom divine Providence so attends that no one lacks the necessities of life, not without the just admiration of very many. For from its very beginnings, our Hospital preserves this as the hereditary right, as it were, of its blessed Father John: that it excludes no poor person. Nor are the beds a fixed number, but whoever comes is received. If beds are lacking, they consider it better to lay the sick on a rush mat and fortify them with the Sacraments than to exclude them, destitute of these, to die on the bare ground. its ministers serve without pay. Furthermore, all who come to the ministries of the Hospital do so out of love for God, having contracted no stipend; and for this reason everything is carried out more carefully than in any household anywhere, however well-ordered. For all have this one purpose set before themselves: to save their souls through the exercise of charity. And so all strive to fulfill what is their duty, and need no exhortation or reproof from anyone.

although he flourished after John had been taken from this mortal life, he was nevertheless familiar with those who had known the blessed man themselves.

And his labor and diligence ought to suffice for us at present, what new material has now been added? had not new depositions been taken after the Life he published, as we have said — in Portugal, indeed, by the command of the Most Illustrious and Most Reverend Lord Joseph de Mello, most worthy Archbishop of Evora; and in Castile and at Granada by the authority of the Most Illustrious and Most Reverend Lord Innocenzo Massimo, Bishop of Bertinoro and Apostolic Nuncio for Spain, in the time of Gregory XV of happy memory. When so great a throng of witnesses as I have described was called and examined in connection with these depositions, not one among them was found who did not bring forth some illustrious argument of virtue or sanctity — so that even incredulity itself might recognize in confusion how certain and firm a truth this history contains. But if anyone should ask by what means the divine revelations could be known, and the things that took place solely between him and God, whence were the secret revelations obtained? with no one aware — since he both knew how and was accustomed in other matters to keep a secret, and in these should have used silence all the more for his humility — I shall answer that the same Spirit who taught him to be silent also sometimes compelled him to speak a very few things out of the very many he suppressed, either because it seemed necessary for the glory of God and the benefit of his neighbor, or when his confessors or other learned men whose counsel he used determined it should be done. For the same thing frequently happens to other servants of God as well: that obedience forces them to manifest secrets which humility would otherwise have preferred to keep hidden. But if John had wrapped everything in silence, he would have subtracted many arguments from his own beatification, as well as material from our writing.

Receive, therefore, friendly reader, from all that needed to be said, the fruit of this reading. this small portion, and let not the precious material displease you on account of its inelegant form. For gold, apart from its setting, is of as great weight as it is of price; and a diamond, even unpolished, does not lack its appraisers. I offer you here diamonds and gold, with no regard for my own advantage, but with the sole desire that you may profit from the examples of heroic virtues with which this most blessed man shone — and especially from that burning charity with which he embraced his neighbor — so that you, too, may learn to cherish and help him with a similar affection of sincere love.

The Translator to the Reader.

If we had wished to render sense for sense and word for word in this second Life with the same accuracy we used in rendering the preceding Life from the original text into Latin, Why this Life is not published in its entirety: we would perhaps have had a work three times as large — but much less to be approved by those who are not sufficiently pleased to see several Lives of the same Saint collected in this work. The reason why we do not always comply with them, however, was given in the Prolegomena to February, chapter 2, which there is no need to repeat here — especially since we are here only going to give those things which were either entirely passed over or only lightly touched upon by the first writer of the Life. The remaining things which Antonio transcribed from Francisco, although they may seem to have had the strength of new authority from the fact that after so serious and diligent an examination, nothing was found that would render any part or circumstance of the earlier Life, however small, suspect of error, but with the passages described in the earlier Life omitted we have nevertheless thought should all be omitted, since they would contribute nothing at all to producing a fuller knowledge of the blessed man for the reader. For the reason for writings coming to light in this century is not the same as for ancient documents. Nevertheless, if it should seem worthwhile to someone (into whose hands neither the Spanish text itself nor the Italian translation may have come) to know by what arrangement the most diligent author — who was also most eloquent in his own language, and therefore not infrequently rendered by us in a briefer style with verbal luxuriance pruned — organized his entire work, here is the synopsis of both books (for they are twin), divided into their chapters after our manner.

Table of Chapters of Book One.

Chapter 1. Concerning the homeland, parents, birth of Blessed John of God, and the wonderful things that occurred therein.

2. How, leaving his homeland and parents, he came to Castile, and what happened to him there.

3. Concerning the occupation he was engaged in at Oropesa until the Fuenterrabía expedition, and its outcome.

4. Freed from another greater danger, John returns to Oropesa, and from there sets out for the Hungarian war.

5. From the port of Coruña he heads for Montemor; from his journey he visits the church of the Apostle Saint James.

6. He returns to the pastoral life; he crosses into Africa; what happened at Ceuta?

7. On what occasion he took counsel to leave Ceuta.

8. In the crossing of the Strait of Cadiz he suffers a severe storm; he remains at Cadiz for some days.

9. The child Jesus appearing to John declares it to be His will,

abounding in plenty, and especially in the fruits coming from trees, whose rare beauty, sweetness, and goodness gave the town a surname, so that, to distinguish it from other synonyms, it is called Regio. In a street of this town called the Green Street, Andreas Ciudad, a citizen of greater probity than wealth, had his house, and in it his wife, and his birthplace: a woman of equal respectability, whose proper name oblivion has buried, because the respectable custom of that town does not usually address women by any name other than that of their husband. Both were of blood most pure from the taint of Jewish blemish. Their dwelling, in their slender fortune, was quite narrow, but the birth of John made it august, and rendered it so venerable to the faithful that many come to it as to the destination of a sacred pilgrimage, and adore it on their knees from afar when they catch sight of it, and likewise crawl to it on their knees — placing the very dust of the ground which the boy trod with his feet upon their eyes, and reporting memorable benefits of healings. Although God permitted this house to collapse on a certain night, He permitted it for no other purpose than to plant in the Rectors of that town the thought of building a church on that site. This work was begun with greater fervor than constancy of continuation — God perhaps so ordaining that this should be the first temple to be consecrated to the name of John, who, as we hope, is soon to be beatified.

CHAPTER II.

[2] At home indeed, all was quiet when John was born; his future sanctity foreshadowed by signs; but heaven sent Angels to adorn his birth, through whom the bells were struck by an invisible hand above the parish church of Our Lady — called the Bishop's — in which the boy was washed in baptism. Then, by the same agency, He caused a fiery and shining column to be seen above the roof of the paternal house. The common people, running up to gaze at it, could not easily discover its cause; unless, making a conjecture from the virtue of the parents, they judged them worthy of having a son born who would be honored by heavenly prodigies. There are also trustworthy persons who relate that John's future excellence was revealed from heaven to a certain hermit living a solitary life on Mount Occa, and that the same hermit confirmed his prophecy about him with a double argument — namely, a fiery column to be seen above the house of the newborn, and bells to be rung in the church by other than human hands. A certain Priest carried the eight-year-old boy away from his homeland and parents to Castile his early years: and left him at Oropesa with Francisco, surnamed Mayoral — which occupation the young man exercised as Master of the shepherds in the household of John Ferrus and Navas, which is by far the foremost in that town.

CHAPTER III.

[3] In the service of this household, John grew up and proved himself when assigned to the care of flocks, devotion to the Blessed Virgin, to such a degree that Francisco, having obtained the office of public jailer, offered him one of his daughters in marriage. But the most Blessed Virgin, to whom he had been most devoted from his earliest childhood, preserved him free from such a bond: daily completing the task of the Rosary, as it is called, in her honor, and reciting the Lord's Prayer with the Angelic Salutation twenty-four times beyond many other prayers, in memory of the years that she survived in this life after her Son's assumption into heaven. Indeed, as he wandered through the pastures in sweet solitude, his tender breast not infrequently overflowed with a certain affection, as he considered what a sad life the Queen Mother had led, so many years absent from her most beloved Son. Thus, intent on tending flocks and nourishing his own piety, he reached the twenty-second year of his age — tall in stature, black of beard, of such overall bodily composition as would show a man fit for the pastoral office, Made a soldier, he is thrown from a horse, yet who could seem far more suited to the camp and military service. And so, when John Ferrus — whom I have mentioned — was departing with the rank of Captain for the expedition to Fuenterrabía, John went with him as his companion, intending to serve as a soldier. These military wages he did not find so generous as the dangers were great, in which he saw his life placed; and he experienced those favors of the most blessed Virgin from which he might learn that she is never worshipped and loved by anyone in vain.

CHAPTER IV.

[4] For first, after that severe fall — mentioned elsewhere — by which John was thrown from a rearing horse, he is helped by the Blessed Virgin appearing to him, he realized he had come from the danger of death to the peril of captivity. When he invoked the most Blessed Virgin to his aid, he added to his prayers an efficacy that was able to bring the Queen of heaven herself down to earth, to be seen by John in a remarkable appearance — and this in a pastoral garb, but with so beautiful and radiant a countenance that it was easy to recognize a person nobler than a rustic one. She, however, concealing who she was, and showing her charity more than her majesty, drew nearer to him and bade him resume his strength and courage and relieve his thirst with the water she offered. Raised by this consolation to good hope, John dared to ask who she was. The Virgin Mother of God said: "I am she to whom you commended yourself. See how, amid so many dangers, you walk badly secured without the protection of prayer." And she vanished from his eyes.

[5] and he understands that this happened to him because of omitted prayers, Having seen and heard these things, John, although refreshed by the water he had tasted, was nevertheless almost again carried beyond the use of his senses from amazement. But the wonder

being weary, he asked the boy for permission to take a brief drink of water and is invited by the same to bear the cross at Granada. to relieve the thirst that sweat had raised. He spoke, and gently lowering his neck, he set the boy down beside a certain tree and betook himself to a spring to drink. The boy called him back. John turned his eyes at the voice and saw in the boy's hands a pomegranate, which, gaping open, held a cross standing in the middle, and at the same time the words of the speaker reached him: "John of God, at Granada your cross will be." And having said this, everything vanished. John was struck with amazement at this, and stood for no small space of time as if thunderstruck. When he came to himself, he immediately began to raise his hands and eyes to heaven, to reproach himself for not having known how to distinguish such a boy from those he had commonly seen; and to blush deeply that he himself, unworthy of every divine favor, should be anticipated by God with such singular signs of benevolence; and finally to understand that it was the divine will that he should devote his service at Granada. Therefore he hastened there cheerfully, intending to commend the slenderness of his service by the promptness of an obedient will.

CHAPTER II.

The pilgrimage to Guadalupe.

CHAPTER X.

CHAPTERS XI, XII.

CHAPTER XIV.

[10] And indeed he found at Granada the cross promised to him, where, changed into an entirely different man by Master Avila's preaching, Setting out for Guadalupe, and inflamed with the supreme zeal for abasing himself, he gave credence to his simulated madness and bore truly most grievous punishments — both from the insolent mob through the marketplaces and streets, and in the Royal Hospital from the attendants of the insane dwelling there. Then, having set out on a pilgrimage to the church of Guadalupe, he endured infinite hardships on that journey, but seasoned with remarkable gifts of divine grace. And especially at Fuenteovejuna, where, having arrived at nightfall when the sky was pouring rain, he found no one to whom he could sell the bundle of firewood brought from the forest, and being thus forced to spend that night without supper, he betook himself to the marketplace; and, beset by both cold and hunger, since he could not remedy the one, he sought a remedy for the other from wood arranged into a fire. under a dense downpour, a fire keeps him dry,

[11] The rain was falling continuously, as we said, and there was no one to invite the vile and despised stranger under a roof; but God provided by a miracle. For those who lived around the area, roused by the brightness of the shining fire in the marketplace, when they saw that neither was the flame extinguished by the violence of the rains, nor was the man sitting beside it getting wet — since human pride is not easily inclined to think great things of despised beggary — they came to suspect that he was using magical arts, he in whom they could observe no evidence of a miracle being wrought in his favor. And so they laid hands on him and led him away as a sorcerer into custody. Thus are men: they had found no place to lodge him, and being more suspected, he is led away to prison. but it was not difficult to find a prison to afflict him. Here they beset him with a thousand questions; but since he answered all of them prudently and modestly, and they could detect in him no other character than that of a poor pilgrim, they released him free the next day and ordered him to leave the town within half an hour. The sting of this injury was softened by a few small coins and two loaves of bread given to him in the name of alms; and these, as soon as he was outside the gates, he immediately wished to share with two beggars coming to meet him, using a generous spirit in a meager matter.

[12] on the road he throws away money, Not many days later, having entered another small town with his customary bundle of firewood, a man, in order to

and to free his servant from that affliction.

CHAPTER III.

At Granada he devotes himself to all the needy and uses the help of Angels.

[18] Proved by such trials, John arrived at Granada; where, having triumphed over the importunate shame that had forbidden his entry — while after the customary exercises of piety he daily brought wood for sale to the marketplace — it happened on one occasion that, having sold them more quickly than usual, he entered the church of Our Lady of the Sacrarium, where there is a most devout image of Christ Crucified, with the Virgin Mother and John the Evangelist standing on either side. He receives a crown of thorns from the hand of the Blessed Virgin: Prostrate on his knees before this, John spent nearly the entire evening in prayers, most earnestly beseeching the divine Majesty to show him the way by which he ought to follow and serve Him. He seemed to himself to have been heard, with his conscience bearing witness within, on account of the incredible joy with which he felt himself flooded. And he had already risen from prayer and was walking briskly to that door of the church which leads toward the Archiepiscopal palace, when he saw (as he himself revealed to Brothers Melchior and Dominic, both outstanding servants of God and of singular charity toward the poor) the Virgin Our Lady herself, and Saint John the Evangelist, descending from the altar toward him and pressing a crown of thorns upon his head. Although this vision was imaginary, it nevertheless brought him the sensation of true pain; and he seemed to hear the Virgin saying: "Through these thorns and labors, John, my Son wills that you may attain great merits." He answered: "Labors and thorns that come from your blessed hand will be roses and flowers to me."

[19] He rents a house for setting up a Hospital: John would not have exchanged this crown of his for a royal diadem or a Papal tiara. When the vision was taken from his eyes and he had left the church, he shortly understood the mystery that had been indicated to him. For passing through the street of Lucena, he caught sight of a house marked with a notice saying that it was to be rented for the poor. Entering it, he immediately began to think it was suitable for gathering the sick and abandoned poor from the streets and helping them once gathered. This, of course, was the crown recently placed upon him; this was the way by which he ought to serve God. Since this was so much in accord with his mind's desire, without considering whether what he had conceived in mind was possible, nor whence he would have beds, furnishings, medicines, and the other things necessary for equipping a hospital and treating the sick — he had this one purpose set before himself: to procure a house for receiving the poor and to leave the rest to God. Nor did his conceived hope deceive him: from the alms of pious men, and especially of a certain Chaplain of the Royal Chapel who counted out three hundred and twelve reals for that purpose, he rented the house and set up in it forty-six little beds — poor ones indeed, furnished only with a rush mat, two bedcovers, and one pillow, above which a wooden cross stood out — but a not contemptible beginning of a great undertaking.

CHAPTER XIX.

[20] Furthermore, the one cry of him who begged alms for his poor day and night was: "Do good to yourselves, Brothers." [He teaches those who give alms to the poor that they are doing good to themselves:] How truly he spoke this was confirmed by a notable event. Among the very many who promoted the pious endeavors of John with daily subsidies, one was Doña Juana de Fusteros, a widowed woman who by her rare virtues deserved to be named with praise in this place. One day, when she had nothing else at hand to give, she handed John a pinch of salt. She had a son in Italy, brought there under the auspices of Emperor Charles V, who, moved both by longing for his mother and homeland and by weariness of military service, was arranging his return.

He called John back and begged him to take it away immediately. Seizing the purse, he drew out only so much money as would suffice for the funeral vestment and burial of the remains to be attended to.

[26] Shortly afterward, he found another man in the street, barely different from a dead man, In the person of a poor man, as could be judged by the sign of his pallid color. This one he placed on his back in his customary manner and carried him to the hospital to be cared for, laid him upon a bed, and hastily prepared what was necessary for washing his feet, as he was accustomed to do for all who were received at the hospital. When he had washed them and had humbly bent down to kiss them, he was greatly astonished, seeing in one of the feet a wound so bright and shining that he clearly recognized them to be the marks of our Redeemer, remaining from the driving of the nails. Then, raising his eyes to the man's face, he heard him saying: he washes the feet of Christ Himself. "John, every good thing that the poor receive in my name is done to me. I extend my hand to receive the alms that are offered to them. I am clothed with their garments. It is I whose feet you wash, whenever you wash them for a poor or sick person." He said this and vanished, leaving in John's soul an immense astonishment at so singular a favor, and in the hospital such a great splendor that the sick, leaping from their beds, cried out: "Fire! Fire!" — until John calmed them, affirming that the fire had been extinguished; that fire, namely, by which they had believed the hospital was burning. For the fire by which his soul henceforth burned to seek out every kind of comfort, indeed of delights, for the poor, received from this hour such great increase that he himself could not contain his own desire.

CHAPTER IV.

Illustrious conversions made through John.

CHAPTER XXIII.

[27] Greater, however, in him was the thirst for winning souls for Christ than for helping bodies; Antonio Martín, meditating the death of Pedro Velasco, and it was not lacking in great fruits. The firstfruits of these may rightfully be said to have been Antonio Martín, who had formerly been as far removed from the way of salvation as he afterward came closer to the virtue of his master. In order for his conversion to be better understood, it is helpful to briefly set before our eyes his earlier life. Antonio Martín, originally from the town of Mira in the territory of Requena, came to Granada in the twenty-eighth year of his age, pursuing Pedro Velasco — who afterward assumed the name of Peter the Sinner — to the death, in order to avenge the death of his brother. He did not rest until he had dragged his adversary into prison; indeed, he was not believed likely to rest he acts as a pimp; until he saw him hanged from the gallows. Meanwhile, while the judges proceeded slowly in the capital case, Antonio was engaged in business as far removed from his salvation as possible, acting as a pimp in a brothel and maintaining those persons there whose shameful earnings provided for him the adornment of his person, about which he was excessively and immodestly curious — so that, as it were, where sin had abounded, grace would also abound thereafter, when, wholly translated into the love of God, he seemed to be a target for the child Jesus, hurling the darts of a more divine flame at him.

[28] However negligent of his salvation Martín lived, intent upon the one thing of killing Peter, he nevertheless gave alms willingly enough to John of God generous toward John, whenever he met him — to such a degree that John numbered him among his friends and benefactors, which I scarcely doubt was a means divinely destined for his salvation. The time for passing the sentence so greatly desired by Martín was at hand. There were also those who, feeling compassion for the prisoner, were trying to arrange peace between them; but Martín admitted no prayers to his ears, however religious, however supported by authority and merits — until John, having heard that the business was being negotiated by many in vain, after pouring out prayers to God and trusting in the favor of the Divinity, resolved to approach the man. Meeting him in the square which the people call the Colcha, he is urged by him to lay aside his enmities; he threw himself at his feet and, drawing out from his sleeve the Crucifix which he always carried with him, addressed him in this manner: "So may this God forgive you, Brother Antonio, as I beg you to be willing to spare your adversary. Consider how greatly you have sinned against this one; so that you may be able to forget what has been sinned against you. Consider that God, however infinitely merciful, will nevertheless be moved by no mercy toward those who have been unwilling to show mercy to their neighbor. If your adversary shed the blood of your brother: for your faults and mine, this same Lord shed His own first. The blood of the Son of God, asking for pardon, ought to be of greater value to you than the blood of your brother, crying out for vengeance."

[29] and at last, being converted, he joins himself to him, After such effective prayers, no more was needed. The hardness of Martín's heart was softened, and coming entirely into John's power, he answered in these words: "Brother John of God, not only do I forgive the man whom until this hour I have had as a sworn enemy, but I offer myself to him as a friend and to you as a companion. I beg and beseech you that, as you were the cause of his not losing his life, you may help me not to lose my soul. I will lead you to the prison, so that the captive may be given his freedom; and you, lead me to your

the horse froze in its tracks and could not advance a step further, although sharply urged with spurs. So Ferdinand leaned down to see what obstacle was blocking the horse, and saw before its feet a deep chasm, and indeed one so frightening that his hair stood on end at the sight (you would have called it the mouth of a hellish pit), and into this the wretch would have fallen had he gone even a tiny bit further. Wherefore, raising his eyes to heaven, he seemed to see that, too, opened for him, shining with a pleasing light, which, insinuating itself into his soul, made him clearly understand that that ruin had been prepared for him if he entangled himself in the desired marriage; but that the gate of heaven stood open if he changed his mind and withdrew from it.

[34] Soon, returning home, he hastened eagerly to seek out Master Avila, as the living oracle of that time; he laid bare the entire sequence of events and explained and he is initiated into the priesthood. that it was decided and fixed in his mind to resume his interrupted studies, so that, having been initiated into sacred Orders, he could devote himself entirely to the divine service — adding that he attributed this singular grace to the prayers of Blessed John. Avila praised the holy plan and admonished him not to delay in carrying it out; but one who was already running needed no spurs. Having completed his studies and been consecrated a Priest, the life of excellent example that he had instituted from the first moment of his conversion, he continued to the end with such praise of virtue that he was deemed worthy to be considered at some time for enrollment in the number of Saints — having died in extreme poverty, sustaining it with the alms of others, he who had spent an opulent estate entirely on alms.

[35] A curious investigator of John's actions, An equally happy outcome, though not an equally praiseworthy beginning, attended the conversion of a certain citizen of Granada named Simon de Avila. He, holding a different opinion about John than was proper, watched all his movements, so to speak — a curious rather than malicious investigator of all his deeds and words. Therefore, having followed him as he entered the house of a widow, to whom and to her three small children provisions were being brought by the man of God, he drew nearer to the doors of the dwelling. And there, noted on the wall — which he least expected — he beheld all the offenses of his past life; the Lord admonishing him he is punished, not to be so uselessly diligent about another's affairs when he had so much of his own to examine at home. He also beheld a flaming sword hanging over his head and threatening a deadly blow at any moment. At this sight, the wretched Simon fell, bereft of his senses, not to be recalled to himself so quickly had not John, hearing him fall, rushed out and, calling repeatedly upon Jesus in a raised voice and repeatedly marking the prostrate man's breast with the sign of the Cross, recalled his fleeing spirit. But he, when the power of looking around

do not express his name; they only say he was the grandfather of the Licentiate Lucas, who is known today to live uprightly and honestly, and who, as a domestic witness, affirms what follows. Namely, that when his grandfather had granted John a room in his house, the sound of small bells was heard through the house. This was observed several times and moved some to search all parts of the entire house, to discover where the sound was coming from. Coming to John's room, however, and peering through some opening to see what he was doing, they saw him with a burning lamp, praying on his knees with great tranquility. Lingering there for some time to see the end, they observed him rise and tie small bells to his legs, with which, performing some leaps through the room, he would say to himself: "It is not fitting for one to sleep who must serve God." This they could be quite certain was his remedy against sleep, because after several trips back and forth through the room, he would compose himself again for prayer, to be continued with the fervor we described above. From which, some of those who observed him praying thus more attentively affirm that they saw a fiery ray reaching from his mouth to heaven — a clear indication indeed of how acceptable his prayers were in the sight of God.

CHAPTER VI.

Diabolic infestations, zeal for the honor of God, and the cheapness of clothing.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

[43] The devil was therefore bursting with envy, having sometimes been heard publicly to confess The devil strives to disturb him while praying, that this rustic mushroom was creating much trouble for him. Therefore, if he could not altogether prevent John's prayer, he strove at least to interrupt it by whatever means he could. For (to pass over the incidents mentioned elsewhere), once while John was praying in church, the devil was seen in the form of an owl, sucking out the oil by which the lamp burned. When John had driven it away by repeatedly clapping his hands, after some interval of time he saw it flying away and heard it saying: "It is enough that I have diverted you from prayer." "But you will have gained little," John replied, "for it is easy to make up for the loss of the time stolen by you, by adding double of it to my customary prayer, which I see to be so troublesome to you." At other times the devil, using open violence, punished him with terrible blows; and once indeed he did this so cruelly that John believed he would have died under them, had not the Virgin Mother of God, called to his aid, been present. even raging with blows: With her help, what wonder if he carried off frequent victories over the enemy and despised his very adversary? Thus, knowing him to be sitting on the roof at a certain time, he would say: "Come down, come down! Here I am, ready for the fight. Do to me whatever

they were exercised.

CHAPTER VII.

Patience in bearing injuries and immense trust in God.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

[50] The patience he exercised in bearing injuries is to be esteemed all the more Struck with a blow on the head because those through whom they were inflicted were often of the lowest class. As he was entering the courtyard of certain buildings inhabited by Antonio Zaván, a most noble Knight, an immense retinue of poor people requesting alms followed him, among whom was a certain buffoon, all the more importunate than the rest as he was more undeserving. John, however, being accustomed to deny nothing to anyone, gave even to this man a real. But he, offended by the smallness of the alms, said to the rest: "See how reverently the city of Granada treats this impostor! By Hercules, they do not know him as I do, who know him to be a hypocrite, although he seems to be a great Saint. If they knew, they would all treat him in the way he deserves, as I do." And at the same time, raising his hand, he struck the innocent man a blow on the head — about to receive a greater alms from the man he had struck, who was accustomed to repay injuries with benefits — had he not snatched himself away in flight. For the scoundrel, rebuked by the other poor people and seeing the servants of the aforesaid Knight running up, he prevents those who wish to avenge him. quickly left the place. These men, feeling compassion for John, were indignant that the sacrilege had gone unpunished; but he, with an entirely cheerful countenance, forbade them to pursue the guilty man for punishment — him to whom he kept saying he owed thanks, and to whom he was in fact repaying by praying to God for the evildoer. Antonio had seen all this, and immediately coming down into his courtyard, he clasped John in a tender embrace and ordered him to go up to his room, intending to have him as a guest at his table that day, and by that honor to undo the injury done to the holy man in his house.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

[51] It also happened that someone came to John's Hospital

Pedro Guerrero, no less distinguished by his sanctity than by his Archiepiscopal mitre, used to call him while he was still living "the Hidden Man"; for from those things that appeared outwardly, that learned and pious man knew how to estimate those things that lay hidden within, withdrawn from human eyes. The Father Master Avila, second to none in this age in praise of either learning or virtue, excusing John's eccentricities from the pulpit, publicly declared that they proceeded not from madness but from an excess, as it were, of charity, and used to call him the "Holy Fool." The Governor of Oran, the departed Marquis of Ardales, Diego Guzmán, had left his wife at home pregnant. She, having given birth to a daughter, and esteemed by illustrious matrons. wished no other godfather for her at the sacred font than John of God, for which reason he set out from Granada to Cabra. With a most happy omen, as the passage of time revealed: for this spiritual daughter of his, betrothed to Christ among the nuns of Saint Dominic at Baena, doubtless owes to her mother's devotion and to the prayers of her holy godfather the beginnings of those remarkable virtues and graces with which she lived, adorned by God, and died not without a great reputation of manifest sanctity.

[59] Father Friar John de Silva, Provincial of the Order begun by Blessed John, was traveling to Rome, and passing through Savoy, he visited Doña Sancha de Toledo, the chief Lady of the Bedchamber of the Most Serene Infanta Doña Catalina, to whom he also offered a small book about the life of Blessed John. She, considering how slender it was, said: "Ah, my Father, how brief were those who wrote about his deeds! Those things alone which I myself know about him could fill a great volume." What opinion the Dukes of Sessa — Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba and María de Mendoza — had of him, has been said elsewhere. What the city of Granada thought of him, it revealed by very many and splendid proofs; yet I know not whether ever more illustriously than when his Hospital was transferred from the street of the Gomelez family to the place where it now stands, the feeling of the Granadans about John which had formerly been the Convent of the Hieronymite Fathers.

[60] These Fathers were to have for some time the supreme care of the new Hospital (the common people call it superintendence), and one of them, speaking from the pulpit to the people in the very act of the solemn translation, had judged that along with its location, the name of the Hospital should also be changed; and therefore in the course of his oration he said that henceforth it should be called not the Hospital of John of God, but of the Five Wounds of Christ. At these words, an old man venerable in age, moved by pious zeal, rose up and said: "By no means shall that happen! demonstrated at the translation of the Hospital. It will be called, as it is, John of God forever." And this utterance was followed by an outcry of the people, who wished it to be called John of God's. For although the new appellation that the speaker wished to introduce was much more dignified, it was nevertheless a scandal to the multitude, who feared it would obliterate the memory of a name so dear and venerable to them. Nor shall I pass over in silence what a certain man, originally from the territory of Toledo but born at Granada, concluded his report on the virtues and rare excellences of this Blessed man with — in the very act of the juridical investigation, saying that he considered John so truly a Saint that he would not at all hesitate, for the confirmation of his word, to enter a burning furnace, certain that he would be freed thence by God on account of the most evident truth of his assertion.

CHAPTER XL.

[61] This by no means common opinion of sanctity was fostered by frequent instances of knowledge of things either hidden or future, By the gift of prophecy he knows the planned crime of two young men: by which it became widely known that the spirit of prophecy was present in him. From the very many examples of this grace that could be gathered, take these few. Two young men were going together with the intention of polluting each other with that sin which, because it ought not even to be named, we call unspeakable. John, however, knew this by divine revelation; therefore, going to meet them, he joined himself as a companion, and began to dissuade them from the planned crime with such efficacy of words that they, confused and convicted, confessed the truth.

the enormous expenses to be incurred within and outside the Hospital, the growth of his successors; urged him to build something more stately and capable of a greater multitude. To these he answered: "There will be no lack of those who, following our institute, will build handsome houses and magnificent Hospitals. It suffices for me to succor the present need and to sustain these living walls." By these words he simultaneously declared both the humility of his spirit and the prerogative of his prophetic spirit — of which the former held him back from undertaking splendid works, while the latter foretold the future greatness of the Order, such as we now see throughout the entire Christian world; not only spread through Spain, Italy, France, Germany, and Savoy, but also extending its charity even to the West Indies, with ample and magnificently built Hospitals everywhere, which make manifest to all the truthfulness and sanctity of the servant of God.

[67] He had ordered the Last Anointing to be administered to a certain sick man of his Hospital; the approaching death of a sick man. but the patient, as many are wont, induced by a rash persuasion that his life might be extended further, and dreading that Sacrament as a presage of certain death, wished it to be postponed — to be sought in good time when he felt himself pressed. The attendants of the Hospital complied with him; but his sudden death shortly taught how far from groundless John's solicitude had been. After some interval of time, when John and his companions had come together to wrap and bury him, the dead man returned to life and, fixing his eyes on the servant of God, said: "Father of the poor, know that, because I was disobedient to your commands and neglected the Last Anointing, by the just judgment of God I have been sentenced to punishments to be endured for one hundred and twenty years in the fire of purgatory." Having said this, he once again closed his eyes in death, while all marveled and were greatly confirmed in the opinion they had long conceived within themselves concerning the gift of evident foreknowledge of future things, communicated by God to John.

[68] A noble Knight of Málaga, most devoted to our John, To Laso de la Vega, the future states of his sons. was tormented by a grave worry about the state of life which his only two sons would embrace. The Knight's name was Gutierre Laso de la Vega, of the Order of Saint James. He therefore directed a letter of consultation on this matter to the servant of God, who with great simplicity answered: that one of the sons would sing Mass and the other would be joined in marriage. Both came to pass, and those same letters are still preserved and displayed, witnesses of a truthful prediction. He used a similar simplicity of response with Diego de Loyasa, a man in whom ancient nobility competed with Christian virtue. This man had a house at Granada, and beneath it vaults which in Moorish times had been used as baths, He knows at a distance the deaths of the poor: but were then a refuge for the poor, who would retire there at night against the injuries of the weather, and sometimes die there. In order to have them buried, he received an indication of their deaths from God. And so it often happened that before the doors were opened, John of God would knock at them; and when those inside asked why he was there, he was accustomed to reply that he was seeking a Brother whom he had been informed had died there that night. Although he concealed it, those who knew his humility easily judged that this was known to him only by divine revelation, as they saw him enter the vault through deep darkness, and thence carry the corpse placed on his shoulders to burial, with steps as sure as if he were walking in broad daylight.

[69] and the revelation of a certain woman's adultery A poor but honorable man had been detained far from the city of Granada for a long time by certain domestic business, having left his wife at home, not well enough provided with means for living honestly. Therefore, through the door of necessity, easy access to her was found by one who had cast lascivious eyes upon her. From that encounter a child was conceived and brought into the light, which the mother was raising secretly enough at home — until her husband arrived unexpectedly. What was the wretched woman to do, caught in a manifest crime? When her husband was disturbed at the sight of the child and asked whose it was, she answered, concealing her fear as best she could, that this child had been given to her by John to be raised for pay.

Raphael; and that she, while wiping the sweat from his brow, had said to him: "This is the hour at which I am never wont to fail my devout servants; nor will I ever fail your poor." So that the Archbishop seems to have been moved by her to that munificence by which he discharged the pledge given by Mary to John.

[76] After this, on Friday, the day of the week consecrated to the mystery of the Lord's Passion, the night that followed was John's last. He dies piously. Knowing this, he wished everyone to leave the room, not to return until he called out; and, as if pressed by no illness, he leapt from his bed to pray. Having continued this prayer for a long time, embracing the image of the Crucifix and kneeling on both knees, he at last concluded with these words: "Jesus, Jesus, into your hands I commend myself." Those who were waiting at the door heard the voice, and having opened it, finding him thus kneeling, suspecting nothing less than that he had died, they closed the door again, and at the same time heard a noise, as of some persons leaving the room. Therefore, since he no longer gave any voice, leaving behind a wonderful fragrance. they entered the room again and found the servant of God placed in the manner we have described; the place, however, was filled with a certain heavenly fragrance, which all believed to be the effect of that favor with which the most gracious Lord is accustomed to accompany the departure of His servants. The noise of footsteps that they had heard, they believed, was that of Angels who had come to escort his blessed soul to the joys of paradise. This took place at the dawn of the Sabbath day, so that in his death the Passion of the Son and the memory of the Mother might be joined — on the eighth of March, in the year one thousand five hundred and fifty.

CHAPTER XI.

Blessed John, even after death, is powerful for converting sinners and grateful to those who have served him well.

CHAPTER IV.

[77] "Charity never fails," says the Apostle — not even through death. And those works of charity which the Saints exercised in this mortal life, they would not intermit in that immortal life, if God permitted. 1 Cor. 13:8 This was permitted to John, whose particular praise this seems to be: that the benefits he conferred upon men while living, he continues to confer also when dead. Of these, we shall here report those which, drawn from a legitimate process formed not long ago, we have confirmed by certain testimonies. Let the conversions of great sinners who had despaired, following upon his invocation, hold first place. A certain Moorish Alfaqui had been received into that Hospital which rejects no class of the needy, by Brothers who did not despair that his soul could be healed together with his body — a hope certainly not in vain. A stubborn Moor in the Hospital: For although many days were spent laboring in vain to convince him to abandon his sect,

he wished to assume the appearance of a traveler, so that he might refresh with heavenly delights a friend to whom he had so often given words full of good hope.

[84] At another time, the same John Fernández had set out on a journey to Madrid. him when sad When, remembering that joy which he used to receive from the company of Blessed John, he suddenly fell into a deep sadness. While he lingered in this state, lost in thought, an unknown person caught up with him and, beginning to engage him in conversation, said he seemed somewhat sad. Fernández did not deny the sadness to his companion; but its cause he neither expressed himself nor did the other inquire. "Let us," the stranger said, "step aside from the road for a while to hear some musical melody that may relieve your sorrow." And with no more words, Fernández followed as the other led him off the road, sat down on the grass, and heard a harmony so sweet that he knew beyond doubt it was not a concert of human voices, but of Angelic ones. he refreshes with heavenly music: So attentively did he lend his ears to it that he perceived neither the passage of time nor the departure of his companion; until, when the music ended — which had begun at the eighth hour of the morning — he saw that a great part of the day had elapsed, but his companion was nowhere to be seen. He therefore believed this to have been John of God himself, who, intending to make good on his words, had joined himself to him as he walked. Joyful and cheerful, he continued his journey and gave thanks to God and His servant, and not infrequently thereafter, weeping, he recounted to friends these and other favors divinely conferred upon him through Blessed John.

[85] In the year one thousand six hundred and nine, in the month of June, to another he preserves crops unharmed from hail. Miguel Aparicio, a resident of Colomera and at that time the ordinary magistrate of that town, came to the Hospital of Blessed John at Granada. He had been devoutly attached to John of God for thirty years already, and was accustomed to receive the Brothers of the Hospitality passing through that way with lodging generous for his fortune, and to help them with alms. Upon arriving, he told Brother Antonio Sánchez that he was present because he was bound by a new benefit of the blessed man. For toward the end of the month of May, when the ripe crops were at the point where they needed to be dried, such great hail had fallen throughout the entire district of Salzedilla — in which Miguel had his fields — that no one had any hope left of making a harvest. And indeed all his neighbors had suffered the loss they feared. He alone had remained free of damage, having turned his mind and prayers to Blessed John when he saw the storm threatening his property — that he might exempt his crops from danger, mindful of the charity with which he had received his sons and Brothers for thirty and more years, and also of his own devotion toward him, which he resolved to increase and foster henceforth if such a grace were obtained.

gate, which from the other side of the church leads to the cloister, he found himself brought to a stop, and there the horse halted in its tracks — the demon that had spurred it on being repressed by the dread of the sacred place. Here for the first time it was possible for both the rider and the spectators to marvel how it could have happened that, without any injury whatsoever, without even the smallest strap or buckle by which the saddle was fastened without any harm. being broken, a man on a horse spurred to so furious a course could pass through so narrow and low a doorway — through which it seemed impossible for anyone sitting thus to pass, even if he were to attempt it at leisure and without violence or impetus. For the rider's height alone was such that his feet filled the entire space of that little door. And therefore he unhesitatingly declared that his life had been preserved by nothing other than a divine miracle, so that he himself, together with many others, might come forward as an irrefutable witness for the promotion of his beatification.

[92] In the same regard, in the same city of Granada, a woman devout to Blessed John — Martha Díaz, wife of Pedro Gadín — obtained a remarkable and plainly prodigious benefit: for six full years she had been suffering the most grievous pains of sciatica in one of her hips, Incurable pains for a full six years to which, from a badly affected eye, other pains no less severe had been added. Nevertheless, not wishing to miss hearing Mass on the vigil of the Lord's Nativity in the year one thousand six hundred and twenty-two, she ordered herself to be carried by mule to the nearby church of Saint Mary of the Victory, and having entered with the help of her household, she attended with much discomfort and suffering the sacrifice that was then being offered there. When it was finished, an edict was promulgated citing all who knew anything about the sanctity, virtue, and miracles of the servant of God John, to come forward in judgment; certain things were also specifically mentioned to be confirmed by suitable witnesses. Raised in confidence by these things, the woman began to add to the sacrifice already completed and offered to God the merits of Blessed John, at the invocation of Blessed John that through his intercession she too might deserve to recover her health. The success increased the confidence of her prayer: for when the edict had been read through, she felt the hip and eye pains somewhat lighter, and so, having gained some relief, though not fully healed, she returned home.

[93] In this state she spent two days of the Christmas festivity. On the third day, pains in both parts began to intensify so severely that the wretched woman believed she would either end her life in them or lose the use of reason. Crying out frantically, she sat up on the bed, covered with a cloak; until, remembering the edict recited three days before — meanwhile binding her leg with bandages and about to perceive little or no relief because of the violence of the torments — she addressed the servant of God with these words: "Glorious John, she is suddenly and wonderfully healed. grant me also some sign of your power.

to send annually to the Hospital, as a testimony of gratitude.

[100] What does the fervent prayer of an afflicted heart, supported by the patronage of the Saints, not obtain? As soon as the vow was made, the violence of the ailment was also diminished, and between the fear of torments and the confidence conceived in her Patron, she had some space of rest. When the surgeon returned the next day with his instruments, and had bared the arm for the appointed surgery, he found such a change in it that he judged the operation should be entirely dispensed with, and eagerly inquired what could be the cause of such a novelty. "I know no other, Father," she answered, "than that I fully trust that my health is to be restored by a certain more hidden treatment that has been offered to me." And so it came to pass, and within a few days, to the supreme admiration of the surgeon, who pressed and begged to be allowed to learn this new form of treatment. To him she at last said: "It is from the hand of God, through the intercession of my most loving Patron, Blessed John of God, to whom I commended myself and my health from my heart." Then she declared what had been done on the night preceding the announced surgery, and she made the same things publicly known under the binding of an oath, together with that same surgeon, as a certain and evident miracle, in the Acts of the Palentine Investigation.

CHAPTER XIV.

He comes to the aid of others in various kinds of need.

[101] It was a remedy of another kind that Blessed John, religiously invoked, brought to the extreme necessity in which Miguel de San Esteban, A merchant ruined in all his fortunes a resident and merchant of Granada, was laboring — on account of his pledged word on behalf of a friend who, feeling himself unequal to discharging his contracted debts, had fled the city and shortly afterward had departed from life. For this reason, those to whom money was owed by the fugitive had laid hands on Miguel and, having divided all his substance among themselves, had left him stripped of everything, together with his children and wife. He who knew no consolation on earth resolved to hope for it from heaven — especially after, having heard Mass at the church of the Most Blessed Virgin of Mount Carmel, he heard the edict read which we mentioned above, and in it mention made of the outstanding works of charity and mercy He invokes John, by which the servant of God, while he lived, came to the aid of people in need. For upon leaving that church, he pursued a nine-day devotion in honor of the Blessed man,

[110] Now it is time to see how the things which John in a certain manner consecrated by the touch or presence of his body The damp garments exhale a miraculous fragrance have shared in the power of working miracles; and diffuse, or have diffused, a certain prodigious fragrance. Philippa Gómez, wife of Mateo Gutiérrez, an alderman of Granada — a matron of great virtue and exemplary life — was once standing at the window of her house with her own sister; and she saw John of God passing by, barefoot as usual, and drenched from the rain, which was falling most heavily. Therefore, pitying the holy man, they called him over, invited him in, and persuaded him to take off his habit for a while and sit wrapped in a cloak, until his drenched garments could be dried at the coals. while he is dried at the fire: From these, both women were amazed to perceive, along with the vapor of the moisture sweating out at the fire, a most pleasing fragrance, the like of which they remembered having never before perceived by the sense of smell in their lives. That this sweet scent was above nature was demonstrated by the tender feeling of devotion, which pressed abundant tears from the eyes of those who praised God, who had wished by this means to declare the sanctity of His servant. And so from that day they both held John in the highest esteem, and by their narration of this event they caused him to be held in even greater veneration by others. In this and many other things they narrated about the Blessed man, they were considered worthy of belief on account of the illustrious reputation of their well-known virtue; and there are many most trustworthy witnesses who remember having heard this from them — first of all Doña Ursula Romanos, who also affirmed under oath what follows.

[111] the same is perceived She, having stayed for a long time in the house of the Pisa family (where she herself had grown up and where John had exchanged life for death), happened one Saturday morning to approach the door of the domestic oratory in which Doña María Osorio was praying — the daughter of Anna Osorio, that matron most devoted to Blessed John. From it she perceived a fragrance of such singular sweetness that, having waited until María finished her prayers and came out, she asked whether she kept anything in that oratory that smelled so sweetly and pleasantly. María answered: "You, too, Lady Ursula, do good works, and you will give forth the same fragrance from yourself that you admire." in the place of his death "Do you not know that this oratory was the room in which Saint John of God closed his life, and that to this present day it honors this house with the fragrance you perceive? You will especially smell it on Saturdays, because such was his last day — although more than fifty years have now elapsed since his death." Ursula, carried to a greater admiration by this narration, and certain to test the truth of what she had heard, approached holy Communion of the Body of Christ on the next Thursday. She spent the Friday fasting, and on Saturday

the midwife encouraged the laboring woman, bidding her to press onward in confidence, so that God might complete the grace He had begun to bestow; and finally congratulated her on the creature that was brought into the light. For within a short time after the touch of the staff, the woman in labor was freed from both the birth pangs and all fever, and from then on she kept the most grateful memory of the benefit — which Doctor Apollinaris, who was present at the delivery, used to ascribe to so evident a miracle that he compared her to the four-day dead Lazarus called back to life; for her death, according to the order of nature, seemed no less certain than that of Lazarus once was.

CHAPTER XVI.

The land of his birth is celebrated with miracles.

[120] All these things, however, will perhaps seem less wonderful, since it is not surprising if he, already a Saint, communicated some sanctity to garments, bed, room, and tomb. From John's birthplace But that God gave the same to the very soil of his birth and to the house trodden and inhabited by him while still a boy, before he could count any merits of sanctity, can be considered more wonderful. That God did this, however, remains confirmed by prodigious effects. In the year one thousand six hundred and seven, from Castile into Portugal there came two Brothers of the Order of the Hospitality of the poor, John López and his companion, received powders relieve a stomach of worms and they were received as guests in that house which had been the birthplace of their Founder. While they were staying there, Matthias, a slave purchased into the service of Blasía Díaz, was suffering from a hidden disease, and was bearing it all the more painfully. At last he asked his Mistress for a candle, which he might offer to the servant of God for his health. She willingly gave what was asked; he gave it to the Brothers, requesting in return some of the earth. Having returned home, he placed the same earth in a small pouch, hung it on his neck — with his mistress watching — and with the most devout feeling he could muster said: "Saint John of God, you must restore my health to me." Wonderful to say! At that very instant he ejected a great quantity of worms through his mouth, and within a short time obtained perfect health.

[121] Emanuel Díaz, a native and resident of Montemor, was seriously afflicted in his eyes, and had them so inflamed he heals inflamed eyes, that he could with great difficulty see anything at all; nor could he find any remedy for the ailment. But learning how many people carried away the benefits they desired from the birthplace of Blessed John, at the same time as

the Rule of Saint Augustine. It was recently set forth to Us that when the processes fabricated by Apostolic authority and examined in the sacred tribunal of the Rota, concerning the sanctity, virtues, and miracles of the servant of God John of God — Founder of the Brothers commonly called "Fate ben Fratelli" — were transmitted by Our command to Our Venerable Brothers, the Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church in charge of sacred Rites, and were most rigorously discussed by them in the Congregation of the same Cardinals over many sessions, with Our beloved son the Promoter of the Faith also cited and first heard on the same matters (as is the custom), first the validity of the processes was established, then the heroic virtues, and finally the miracles wrought in life and after death by Almighty God through the intercession of His said servant — with Our beloved son Peter Maria, Cardinal Deacon of Saint George, reporting — the same Cardinals with unanimous consent pronounced that it was safe, whenever it should please Us, to proceed to the solemn Canonization of the said John of God, at the request of the Catholic Monarchs, and that in the meantime he might be called Blessed, and that Mass and the Office might be recited and celebrated for him, as follows below.

Wherefore, on behalf not only of the Greater and the aforesaid Confreres, but also of Our most dear sons in Christ, Ferdinand, King of the Romans elected Emperor, and Philip, the Catholic King of Spain, and Our most dear daughter in Christ, Isabella, the Catholic Queen of Spain, and of other Christian Princes, We have been humbly supplicated that, until the solemn Canonization of the said John of God be reached, the same servant of God John of God might be called Blessed, and that the Office and Mass might be celebrated for him, as stated below. We, Blessed John numbered among the Blessed wishing benignly to accede to the pious wishes of Ferdinand King elected Emperor, and of King Philip and Queen Isabella the Catholic, and of the other Princes, as well as of the aforesaid Greater and other Confreres, in the foregoing matters as far as we can with the Lord, and inclined by these supplications, by the counsel of the same Cardinals, grant that the said Servant of God John of God may henceforth be called Blessed, and that the Office may be recited for him and the Mass celebrated by all the Regulars of the said Congregation, wherever they may be, each year on the day of his death, from the Common of a Confessor not a Pontiff, with the greater double rite throughout the year, according to the Rubrics of the Roman Breviary and Missal; and as regards the Mass, also by other Regular and Secular Priests who flock to their churches; but in the city of Granada — namely in the church where his sacred body rests — and in the land called Montemor-o-Novo, where he was born, he permits him to be venerated with Mass and Office, in all churches of both Regulars and Seculars, the Office and Mass with the lesser double rite

and gave the signal to the city for Prayer, to be continued from the beginning of the following day for forty hours, for which purpose the Body of Christ was exposed upon the altar under the Eucharistic species; the sacred Reliquary having first been carried to the chapel, into a place prepared for it, in the company of our Religious bearing torches. After this, Mass was solemnly chanted, with the aforesaid Bishop officiating; and again from noon he led the singing at Vespers, with the monks of Saint-Germain and our Brothers assisting. and the processional pomp through the hospital: Then Monsieur de Morales delivered an elegant oration to the assembled people, and when it was finished, a procession was established by the aforesaid monks and Brothers, by which the venerable reliquary was carried through all parts of the hospital for the consolation of the sick. And these, decently arranged in their beds, each held a wax candle in their hand. The infirmaries themselves were beautifully adorned; but especially the altar of Blessed Louis which is there, where Blessed John was depicted receiving the crown of thorns pressed upon his head from the hands of the Most Blessed Virgin, in the presence of Saint John the Evangelist. Here the reliquary rested for a while, as a hymn in honor of the blessed Founder was sung with musical accompaniments.

[137] the preachers of the two following days. A similar order of sacred Offices occupied the two days that followed, except that the Relics were not moved from their place. And on the sixteenth day, indeed, there was an immense number of those piously approaching the Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist. The Abbé Briot, one of the royal preachers, delivered the panegyric for the Blessed man. On the seventeenth, however, before the Queen Mother, the Duke of Lorraine, and a great retinue of courtiers of both sexes (who had gathered to bring the forty hours of prayer to a close), the Abbé of Moissac, the Queen Mother's own Almoner, delivered the oration. And since on the following day as well, although the solemnity had ended, the piety of the people until the end of the month: the people came running in great numbers to venerate the holy relics, their most pious enthusiasm had to be indulged, so that the relics were left exposed on the altar, and the afore-described ceremonies were for the most part continued until the last day of the month of November, when the Abbé de Loyac spoke about the praises of the blessed Founder; and with equal zeal and eloquence he exhorted the assembly present to continue honoring the holy man, and to hope that he would help them in their necessities. And thus all this celebration was concluded to the greater honor of God and of our blessed Father.