Pedro Soriano, OH (1515-1588) was a Catholic religious brother who succeeded

John of God John of God ( pt, João de Deus; es, Juan de Dios; lat, Joannes Dei; March 8, 1495 – March 8, 1550) was a Portuguese soldier turned health-care worker in Spain, whose followers later formed the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God, a ...

as the First General of

Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God The Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God, officially the Hospitaller Order of the Brothers of Saint John of God (abbreviated as O.H.), are a Catholic religious order founded in 1572. In Italian they are also known commonly as the Fatebenef ...

Biography

Pedro Soriano was born in 1515 and when he was 40 he decided to leave the military service to join

's disciples in

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

. Due to his enthusiastic soul, he was one of the greatest collaborator of the order mostly in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

where contributed to found several hospitals of Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God especially in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. In 1570 Padre Soriano and Padre Sebastiano Arias were sent to Rome, together with John of God, to apply for the pontificial approval in order to build San Giovanni Calibita hospital, in

Tiber Island The Tiber Island ( it, Isola Tiberina, Latin: ''Insula Tiberina'') is the only river island in the part of the Tiber which runs through Rome. Tiber Island is located in the southern bend of the Tiber. The island is boat-shaped, approximately ...

, which was allowed with the papal bull named ''Licet et debito''. During the first meeting of the order, which was held in Rome on the 23 June 1587, Pedro Soriano was elected First General of the order. He died in August 1588. Gerli, ''L'Ente Ospedaliero Fatebenefratelli e Oftalmico di Milano'', vol. I, pg. 10

Bibliography

* Luigi Gerli, ''L'Ente Ospedaliero Fatebenefratelli e Oftalmico di Milano'', L'Ente Ospedaliero Fatebenefratelli e Oftalmico di Milano, Milano 1976, 3 voll.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soriano, Pedro 1515 births 1588 deaths Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God Order