Servants - JB-eng

Third Order Franciscan, mystic, poet and friend of lepers. Born in England in 1921, he served with the Gurkhas in Malaya and Burma during World War II. A Pauline-like conversion led him to become a pilgrim-seeker.
His search for God's will led him through England, Europe and the Holy Land, and finally to Mutemwa Leprosy Settlement in Zimbabwe, where he tended a flock of 80 leprosy patients with loving care, laying down his life for them in 1979. At his funeral, a pool of blood was seen beneath his coffin. On opening it, there was no evidence where the blood had come from. However, an oversight was revealed. John had not been clothed in the habit of St. Francis, as is the privilege of members of the Third Order and had been John's wish. The habit was found and John was clothed in it.
Since his death in 1979, there have been signs of his sanctity: reports of miracles, claims of cures, as well as many answers to prayer. More important, many have turned to God through John's extraordinary example.