John of God
João Teixeira de Faria (born June 24, 1942), known also as João de Deus ("John of God"), is a self-described medium and "psychic surgeon" from Brazil. He is based in Abadiânia, a small town in the state of Goiás, southwest of Brasília.
João Teixeira de Faria was born in Cachoeira da Fumaça, Goiás (now Cachoeira de Goiás). There are no records of his early life and De Faria himself has not provided precise details. His best known biography is The Miracle Man, written by Robert Pellegrino-Estrich, who runs tours to Abadiânia.
De Faria has no medical training and describes himself as a 'simple farmer.' He completed only two years of education and spent a number of years travelling from village to village in the states of Goias and Minas Gerais.
De Faria says he was told by his spirit guides that he must expand his work to reach more people and spiritist medium Chico Xavier told him he should go to the small Goiás town of Abadiânia to fulfill his healing mission. Around 1978, when João first performed 'healings' there, he just sat outdoors in a chair near the main road where people began to arrive seeking cures for their various illnesses and conditions. Gradually the numbers increased to thousands per day and he developed his centre, Casa de Dom Inácio de Loyola. The Casa de Dom Inácio de Loyola has since been visited by millions of people seeking healing. He also owns a nearby cattle ranch, which covers about 1,000 acres.
De Faria claims to act as a vehicle for God's healing, and to have absolutely no recollection of anything during the procedures. "I do not cure anybody. God heals, and in his infinite goodness permits the Entities to heal and console my brothers. I am merely an instrument in God's divine hands". Millions of people have consulted with de Faria since 1965. Up to 3,000 people per day stand and wait in line to see him individually. De Faria claims to encourage research into his healing abilities in the hope that medical science can make use of his success in the treatment of humankind. At the Casa de Dom Inácio, where treatments take place, De Faria invites medical doctors to come onto the stage to observe his work. De Faria also regularly prescribes meditation and walks to a nearby waterfall as part of treatment.
When called for a 'surgical operation' by De Faria, patients are offered the choice of 'visible' or 'invisible' operations. If they select an 'invisible' operation (or are younger than 18 or older than 52) they are directed to sit in a room and meditate. De Faria also claims that spiritual physicians can perform surgery on the actual patient via a surrogate when the actual patient is unable to make the trip.
A very small percentage of people choose a 'visible' operation where De Faria operates without traditional anesthetic. Instead he says he uses 'spiritual anesthetic' involving energized mineral water and the spiritual energies present, the latter which are provided by groups of volunteers who meditate in a separate room called the 'current room'.
De Faria tells people not to stop taking their medicine and says not everyone he serves will be cured. Often the treatment includes capsules containing pure passion flower that are claimed to carry special blessed spiritual energy to support the individual's healing process.
Visitors talk of their healings being not purely physical but also 'spiritual', emotional and psychological.
De Faria has undergone trials and scrutiny for his work. He has been arrested several times for practicing medicine without a licence and has been jailed once.[1]
