Saint John the Almoner

[Saint John the Almoner]
Also known as
John the Almsgiver
Joannes Eleemosynarius
Joannes Misericors
Memorial
23 January
Profile
Cypriot nobility; son of the governer of Cyprus. Married briefly, and father of one child. Entered the religious life when his wife and child died of disease. Patriarch of Alexandria in 608. Archbishop. Known as the Almoner because of his generosity to the poor. Helped refugees from Persian assults on the Holy Lands. Forced to leave Alexandria when the Persians threatened to overrun it, he returned to his home on Cyprus. Predicted the date of his own death.
Born
c.550 at Arnathus, Cyprus
Died
c.616 at Arnathus, Cyprus of natural causes
relics in the cathedral at Presburg, Slovakia
Name Meaning
God is gracious; gift of God (John)
Canonized
Pre-Congregation
Patronage
Knights Hospitaller
Additional Information
Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
Catholic Online
Golden Legend, by Jacobus de Voragine
Google Directory
Life of Our Holy Father, John the Almsgiver,
New Catholic Dictionary
Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Saints, by Matthew Bunson, Margaret Bunson, and Stephen Bunson
Supplement to the Life of John the Almsgiver, by Leontius, Bishop of Neapolis
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Readings
If we are able to enter the church day and night and implore God to hear our prayers, how careful we should be to hear and grant the petitions of our neighbor in need.

-Saint John the Almoner

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