Joan Gilabert Jofré

Who was Joan Gilabert Jofré?

Joan Gilabert Jofré, also known as Padre Jofré or Pare Jofré, was a member of the Christian religious Order of Mercy and the founder of what is claimed to be the first psychiatric care institution in the world, in Valencia, Spain.

Pare Jofré was born in Valencia on 24 June 1350. He studied law in Lleida, before returning to Valencia where he joined the Order of Mercy in 1370 and entered the Monastery of El Puig. He was ordained priest in 1375 and became a preacher. He eventually became Superior of the Order in Valencia. A commitment to the poor led him to establish institutions to care for the mentally ill, abandoned children and indigent pilgrims. After his death he became a subject of religious veneration and he has been proposed for canonisation as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church.