An Introduction to Healer John of God

Cover art from Spiritual Alliances.

"The scientists who studied João are convinced of his capabilities, but bewildered as to how to handle the information."—Emma Bragdon, Spiritual Alliances: Discovering the Roots of Health at the Casa de Dom Inácio

A contemporary spiritual healer is Brazil’s trance channeler John of God, who has been mentioned in several previous blog articles (including “Some Recordings of Channeling”, "Spiritual Healing" and "Spirituality & Health: Healing Spirits of Brazil").  Those with some knowledge of such metaphysical concepts as 'oneness' or 'nonlocality' will have an advantage for understanding the spiritual force documented in this case.

An explanation for the succession of entities controlling an entranced medium's body was offered through one communicator from the ascended realm speaking through medium Mrs. J. H. Conant as recorded in Flashes of Light from the Spirit-Land through the Mediumship of Mrs. J. H. Conant (1872): ". . . for each occasion an intelligence is selected best adapted for that occasion."  In this article I am presenting some excerpts from biographies of João Teixeira de Faria, who is more commonly known as 'John of God' or 'João de Deus.'

João was born on June 14, 1942 in a village in central Brazil.  He left school after only a few years of education to earn money for his impoverished family's living expenses.  The early period of João's occupation as a trance channel is described in The Miracle Man: The Life Story of Joao de Deus (1997) by Robert Pellegrino-Estrich.  João was sixteen when a life-changing event occurred.

It was a warm sunny day as the bare-footed youth approached a bridge across a creek on the country road leading to Campo Grande.  The urge to bathe in the cool sparkling water was too inviting to resist.  He scrambled nimbly down the embankment and plunged in, momentarily washing away his thoughts of employment and hunger.  He thought he was dreaming when he heard the soft voice call his name.  Wiping the water from his eyes, he focused into the shade of the overhanging trees.  To his surprise, there in the shadows stood a beautiful fair-haired woman.  "Joao," she said again sweetly, "come and talk with me."

"How do you know my name?" he asked in astonishment.

"I know many things, and there is much I must tell you.  Come, sit here with me."

Joao stayed and talked to the beautiful woman for some hours.  That night, back in Campo Grande, he realized the vision was Saint Rita of Cassia, the patron saint of Brazil.  He turned over in his mind the things she had told him and woke with many questions to ask her.  He dressed quickly and hurried out to the creek to see if she was there.  The woman did not appear but in the place where she had stood was a sparkling beam of light.  Disappointed, he turned to go when he heard her voice.  "Joao.  You must go to the Redemptor Spiritual Centre in Campo Grande.  They are waiting for you there," she said as the light disappeared.

When João reached the Centre, there was a man waiting for him at the door.

"Please come in.  We have been waiting for you," he said, as he took him by the arm.  Joao does not remember the next three hours but when he woke up, people surrounded him smiling and shaking his hand.

"You took on the entity of King Solomon.  You healed many people and performed amazing operations," said the senior member.

"I what?" replied Joao in disbelief.  "I'm sorry, you are mistaken.  I was just hungry and fainted from the need of food."

"Let us go to my house and prepare some food.  He is starving!," instructed the senior.

Bathed, dressed in clean clothes and sitting at a table laden with a sumptuous meal Joao had time to reflect on the claims of the people around him.  It was time to take his gifts more seriously; he was unaware of the life long burden this decision would make for him.

João eventually established his healing centre in Abadiâna, "a place selected for him by spirit guidance through his clairvoyant friend Chico Xavier."

Pellegrino-Estrich wrote that rich, poor and famous people have all come to João.  "Prominent and well-known people from all over the world have sought his help . . . Congressmen and congresswomen, politicians, lawyers, rabbis, priests, nuns, American and Russian government officials, doctors, scientists, singers, entertainers, millionaires, entrepreneurs, industrialists and VIPs; the whole broad spectrum of humanity." 

The Miracle Man was the first book written about João in English.  His healing center was described by Pellegrino-Estrich as including a recovery room and "current rooms" where an assembly of 'mediums' in meditation provided 'current' assisting the entities in their work.  He reported that the people waiting their turn for a consultation filed through the first current room.  "In two corners there are piles of crutches, wheelchairs and  body braces discarded by healed invalids — a silent monument to the success of the man and his entities in his healing work."

The second current room also contained mediums seated in rows. 

The endless line of people pass through the middle and are spiritually prepared to meet Joao-in-entity who sits at the far end in a large chair covered in white linen.  At the moment of meeting there is a split second recognition by the entity of each person's "blueprint"; their past lives, current situation, their illness and their spiritual awareness.  Depending on what is seen, the person will be dealt with according to the requirement.  Some are given herbal prescriptions.  Some are told to return for surgery or treatment at a later time.  A few are told to return next session as the Entity required for their case will be incorporated then.  Those that need spiritual strength may be told to sit in current alongside those whose ailments are being treated whilst in meditation.  Others are given concise instructions on necessary life changes.  Each person is dealt with in less than twenty seconds.  Herbal prescriptions are written at lightning speed in a spirit shorthand which looks like a squiggly line and a few ticks.  The pharmacists of the house have been taught to understand these hieroglyphics by the entities who prescribe them.

The third room is the intensive operations room which has a dual purpose; very serious cases requiring a long time in curative coma and, those who request invisible operations.  Around the wall is a line of single beds on which the intensive patients lay whilst the entities perform operations invisibly — paraplegics, leukemia, AIDS and serious cancer patients.

Pellegrino-Estrich wrote that the public demonstrations of physical surgery "fulfill the centre's mission of, not only healing the sick, but providing irrefutable proof that there is another dimension — a spirit world, where we all will eventually go when this physical life expires."

As other books about John of God have been published and videos shared online, individual perspectives are presented about João.  As each witness has a unique history of experiences and education, one doesn't always need to 'agree' with each interpretation of the events described relating to spiritual healing in order to comprehend some of the more obvious lessons.

Two 'daughters of the Casa' are the authors of John of God: The Brazilian Healer Who's Touched the Lives of Millions (2007).  Heather Cumming wrote the book after serving as one of the translators for João.  "As a translator, she assists John of God and the Spirit Guides to see up to two thousand people a day."  Karen Leffler contributed photographs: "Her many trips to the Casa de Dom Inácio have resulted in wonderful light-filled images of the healing energy and sacred space."

Another book about João is Spiritual Alliances: Discovering the Roots of Health at the Casa de Dom Inácio (2002) by Emma Bragdon, PhD., who wrote: ". . . I visited João's sanctuary for three months because I wanted to see with my own eyes how the Entity could perform successful surgery without causing pain or infection—without anesthesia or antibiotics . . . A video I had seen shows him performing surgery blindfolded—to prove that beneficent and highly-skilled forces working through him do the surgery and healing, not João the ordinary man."  Here are some further excerpts from the book.

. . . people experienced little or no pain and had little, if any, bleeding—clear evidence that something extraordinary was happening.  Board certified physicians reported the same to the assembled people and were documented on film.  In over thirty-five years of the Entity's surgery, it has been extremely rare for there to be any infections.


Somehow, life at the Casa de Dom Inácio operated beyond [understood] physical limitations under more powerful spiritual laws.  I was deeply fascinated—and sometimes, disoriented as I looked for new reference points.


. . . João repeats everyday, "It is God, not me, who does the healing."  João's greatest gift is to reveal our close connection to evolved spirits and the energy which we call God.  His work calls us to drop our limiting beliefs about our separation from spirit; to let go of our fears and reach for our closeness with God.  João and his volunteers encourage visitors by often saying, "In God, all things are possible."


The reason João, both as himself and as the Entity, always invites visiting doctors to be near him as he does visible surgeries is to assist them in realizing their own potential in spiritual healing; to learn how to bring spiritual healing into their own work in clinics and hospitals; to become vehicles of the spirit and pass that ability on to others.  João's welcoming film-makers and photographers to record his work is, similarly, aimed at disseminating the power of spiritual healing.

Bragdon described the process where João "incorporates an Entity" — "This process may be barely perceptible.  Often João holds the hands of an assistant for a moment with his eyes closed, and then, on opening his eyes, relates to the group in a more detached way.  Sometimes the incorporation is very dramatic."

You Tube documentary videos about John of God include:


"John of God documentary — Part 1"  (This 2003 video includes graphic footage of 'visible operations' [physical surgeries].)  9:41


"John of God documentary — Part 2"  (EVP words are noticeable in the audio track of this 2003 documentary.)  8:28


"The Healing Ministry of John of God, Joao de Deus"  (This video uploaded in 2008 includes footage of "Joao's body lurching as the spirits enter it" at 1:00.)  9:56


"Brazilian Miracle Man — John of God"  (This is a 2005 documentary produced and directed by Bill Hayes.) 45:19


"Joao de Deus Interview — John of God Interview"  (This video was uploaded in 2012.)  5:54