Cult of John: The Secret Life of João de Deus Spiritual Healer and Serial Rapist

Michael Bailot

May 2025 · Michael Bailot

About this ebook

Oprah Winfrey and New Age icons billed João de Deus (John of God) as the world's greatest psychic healer. He is now recognized as the worst serial rapist in Brazilian history. João claimed to be possessed by dead doctors—performing “surgeries” with actual incisions requiring stitches. But backstage at his spiritual hospital, a secret world was hidden from the public, where black magic masqueraded as healing and charity. Blood sacrifice posed as surgery.

João’s history journeys through Brazilian trance cults and clandestine torture camps during the military dictatorship. It zigzags into Indian genocide and a lifetime of illegal gold mining. Murder for hire, incest, and human trafficking are strewn along its path.

His reputation as a healer eventually attracted tens of thousands of visitors a month to his center, including many politicians and celebrities. His promoters hailed him as a selfless saint who did this work for free—a poor farmer. That man was a multi-millionaire. In 2018, at the pinnacle of his fame, his house of cards collapsed.

Nearly 800 women have accused him of rape committed inside his healing center during the past forty years—under the guise of spiritual healing. This has resulted in 489 years of prison sentences. He is currently under house arrest in his mansion with his new wife, who is thirty years his junior.

Michael Bailot was a guide and spirit medium at João’s center. His research unveils a psychopath posing as a saint. This is the first English exposé of John of God. 

Michael was featured in the Netflix series John of God: Crimes of a Spiritual Healer.

About the author

I lived this horrifying story. No one else has dared to step forward and reveal the secrets of John of God. I am in a unique position because I studied and participated in the arcane subjects I cover. When I discuss Afro-Brazilian religions, it comes from experience. My portrayal of the life of João de Deus and the culture of Brazil is the fruit of twenty-five years of study in the Brazilian school of hard knocks. I know the people I discuss in this book. I am a closet anthropologist with bookshelves to prove it.

The Cult of John entailed four years of research, reading hundreds of dissertations, documents, and victim interviews. Personal journals from my time at the Casa were referenced, as were over a dozen books written about João. Reliable sources gave first-hand accounts. I live in the region of this story and read every newspaper and journal account about João I could find. I gave a four-hour-long deposition to the Chief of Military Police investigating the case, and an insider provided me with details of the case as they were revealed via the District Attorney’s office. I speak and read Portuguese.

I have a lifetime’s experience with obscure cults, shamanism, hypnotism, mediumship, meditation, and alternative folk healing. I know a con when I see one and a Saint when I meet one. All this helped in compiling Cult of John.