Patron Saint of Heart Problems
Patron saint: St. John of God · Feast day:
St. John of God is the patron saint of heart problems and heart disease. A Portuguese soldier who had a dramatic conversion and went on to found the first order of nursing brothers in history, he is invoked by those facing heart surgery, cardiac illness, and all diseases of the heart.
Who Is St. John of God?
St. John of God (1495–1550) was a Portuguese soldier turned religious brother who founded the Order of Hospitallers — one of the first organized systems of hospital care in the world. After a dramatic conversion experience in Granada, Spain, triggered by hearing a sermon by St. John of Avila, he gave away everything he owned and began caring for the sick poor of Granada, eventually establishing a hospital that became the model for dozens more across Europe. He is said to have died of pneumonia contracted while rescuing a drowning man from a flooded river — his heart giving out from the physical exertion of a life wholly given to others. He was canonized in 1690 and declared patron of the sick, hospitals, nurses, and heart patients. His feast day is March 8.
Why Is St. John of God the Patron Saint of Heart problems, the sick, hospitals, nurses, booksellers, alcoholics?
St. John of God's patronage of heart disease and cardiac conditions comes partly from the circumstances of his death — his heart literally giving out in an act of physical self-sacrifice — and partly from the deeper theological meaning of his life. Everything he did was driven by an extraordinary heart: his capacity for compassion, his reckless generosity, his complete disregard for his own comfort and safety in service of the sick.
His patronage of heart patients extends to those facing cardiac surgery, those managing chronic heart disease, those recovering from heart attacks, and those who love someone whose heart is failing. He is the saint for everyone whose heart — literal or metaphorical — is under strain.
Catholics pray to St. John of God before and after cardiac procedures, for those with congenital heart defects, for those managing heart failure, and for the medical teams who care for them. His feast day on March 8 is observed by many hospitals and healthcare organizations that trace their foundation to the Hospitaller tradition he began.
His patronage of heart patients extends to those facing cardiac surgery, those managing chronic heart disease, those recovering from heart attacks, and those who love someone whose heart is failing. He is the saint for everyone whose heart — literal or metaphorical — is under strain.
Catholics pray to St. John of God before and after cardiac procedures, for those with congenital heart defects, for those managing heart failure, and for the medical teams who care for them. His feast day on March 8 is observed by many hospitals and healthcare organizations that trace their foundation to the Hospitaller tradition he began.
Prayer to St. John of God
St. John of God, whose own heart gave out
in the act of saving another —
pray for all whose hearts are laboring now.
Those awaiting surgery.
Those managing what cannot be cured.
Those whose hearts beat on
through the effort of machines and medicine
and the will to stay.
Pray for the surgeons and cardiologists
who hold fragile hearts in their hands.
Pray for the families in waiting rooms
who have nothing to do but wait.
And pray that every heart,
however damaged,
may know itself loved
by the One who made it.
St. John of God, pray for us. Amen
San Juan de Dios, cuyo propio corazón cedió
en el acto de salvar a otro —
ruega por todos cuyos corazones están trabajando ahora.
Los que esperan cirugía.
Los que manejan lo que no puede curarse.
Los cuyos corazones laten
con el esfuerzo de máquinas y medicamentos
y la voluntad de seguir.
Ruega por los cirujanos y cardiólogos
que sostienen corazones frágiles en sus manos.
Ruega por las familias en las salas de espera
que no tienen nada que hacer sino esperar.
Y ruega para que cada corazón,
por muy dañado que esté,
se sepa amado
por el que lo creó.
San Juan de Dios, ruega por nosotros. Amén.
Original composition by Rosarycard.net. Biographical information sourced from Butler's Lives of the Saints. ```
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