About us

The Holy Family Hospital in Nazareth was founded in 1882 and began its activity in Nazareth in a modest house in the center of the city and close to the Basilica of the Annunciation

The Fatebenefratelli order currently exists in 50 countries on five continents.

The hospital was established as a clinic in the old city of Nazareth and in 1884 a hospital ward with 4 beds was inaugurated and a monastery and a church were built.

In 1893 the hospital was closed due to lack of resources and it was reopened in 1899 with 30 inpatient beds.

With the outbreak of the First World War it was used as a hospital for the German army, and to this day the deceased German soldiers are buried nearby.

In 1918 it returned to function but with the outbreak of the Second World War the activity was stopped. The monks returned there only in 1958 and since then it was recognized by the Ministry of Health as a general public hospital.

The Founder:

The Story of St. John

Saint John of God was born in Montemor O Novo in 1495. When eight years old, John was placed into a family in Oropesa in Spain and later became a shepherd. Twice he enlisted in the Spanish army against the French and later the Turks. After being discharged from the army he ultimately made his way in 1538 to Granada, having made a living as a bookseller in Gibraltar. His life was dramatically changed after hearing a sermon preached by Sain John d'Avila in Granada. For a while he was mentally disturbed and he was admitted to the Royal Hospital for the insane. As a result of this experience, John took up the call to serve the poor and the sick because of the mistreatment of the patients in the Royal Hospital he had witnessed and experienced, and was de- termined to change the practices of the day. He was offered a shelter in Granada (the porch of Casa Venegas) where he took his first patients. It was through this venture that John came to gather the support of many people and particularly the encouragement of the Bishop of Granada, who gave him a distinctive form of clothing, and sowed the seeds of the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God. Others followed in his work.

and his way of life continues after his death in 1550.

In 1630, John was declared Blessed by Pope Urban VIII and was later declared a saint and canonized in 1690 by pope Alexander VIII. In 1886, he was proclaimed patron of hospitals and the sick, and in 1930 he was further proclaimed patron of nurses and their associations by Pope Pius XI.