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Worldwide History ::   Hospitaller Order of St. John of God The Hospitaller Order of St.John of God is a Religious Order in the Catholic Church. It draws its inspiration from the life, example and teaching of its founder - St.John of God. The basis of his life, example and teaching was a deep sense of hospitality which opened him to every person he met and moved him to do everything in his power to help them in their needs. The Order, endeavouring to maintain, deepen and perpetuate this hospitality towards others as an integral part of the life of God\'s People, carries out a wide range of health and social service activities in 50 countries and an in every continent. The Co-workers who partner the Brothers in their activities number approximately 45,000.   Preamble In the story of the great movement of compassion launched by the life and teachings of St. John of God there have been many glorious moments, successes, failures, and betrayals. The story of Hospitality in the different cultures and countries during more than four and a half centuries is a fascinating and complex one. Al that we can hope to do within the covers of this publication is to point out crucial moments in that history. A list of such moments would have to include those that follow.     Early Days In 1552, soon after the death of St. John of God, his hospital moved to a new location on the then periphery of the city and became firmly established in the fabric of Granada. The continuance of the work of St. John of God was made more secure when the members of the brotherhood left behind by John of God opted to become a Religious Institute in 1572. In 1568 Brothers began to participate in military campaigns (Alpujarras War, Batle of Lepanto in 1571, the Armada Invencibile against England in 1588, etc.). This opened the eyes of the movement to the world outside Spain and to the sufering that aflicts people outside the wals of an institution . in wars, plagues etc. The work extended outside Spain, first to Italy, with the Brothers opening hospitals in Naples and in Rome. This prepared the way for the arrival of Brothers Sebastian Arias and Pedro Soriano in Rome in 1570 to request the Pope?s approbation of the Order. Pope St. Pius V gave them this recognition. Brother Pedro Soriano stayed on in Italy and founded a hospital in Rome at the Piazza di Pietra. He moved this hospital to the Tiber Island in 1584 by purchasing the Island?s existing Hospital of St. John Calibita. The Congregation spread rapidly and on 1 October 1586 Pope Sixtus V made it an Order, with its own Rules and Superior General.   The division of the order into two congregations On 13 February 1592, Pope Clement VIII, at the request of King Philip II of Spain reduced the Brothers from being an Order to being a fraternity only alowed to serve in hospitals under obedience to the local bishop. The Spanish King wanted to safeguard the availability of the Brothers to him for service with the Spanish military. The Brothers in Italy were able to get themselves restored to the status of an Order some years before the Brothers in Spain could bring about the same restoration. This meant that the two groups had their own Superiors General. They existed as two separate congregations from 1611 to 1867 (about 2? centuries) until they were unified.     THE ORDER IN SPAIN At the beginning of the 17th century the Spanish Congregation of the Order had about 20 hospitals on the Iberian Peninsula; and two foundations in South America . at Cartagena de Indias (Colombia) and Havana. It reached the Philippines in 1617. The Spanish Congregation reached the peak of its splendour with the election of Brother Alonso de Jesus y Ortega in 1738. Various world movements and political developments caused the Spanish Congregation of the Order to go into decline and it finaly became extinct in 1850.    Record: 1-5 of 12 |  Page:123 of 3