João Teixeira de Faria was born in Cachoeira da Fumaça, Goiás (now Cachoeira de Goiás Brazil). There are no formal records of his early life. The best known biography is The Miracle Man, written by Robert Pellegrino-Estrich and most recent book released in May 2007, John of God: The Brazilian Healer Who's Touched the Lives of Millions by Heather Cumming and Karen Leffler. 

 

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 Minas Gerais, Abadiânia.

 

Having been told by his spirit guides that he must expand his work to reach more people and after visiting with spiritist medium Chico Xavier, he was told that 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.