John was, like Francis Borgia, of high birth. Born in Lisbon in 1647, he became a page at the royal court where he fell seriously ill but recovered through the intercession of St. Francis Xavier.

No one can withstand the will of the Lord, says the psalmist; neither the de Brito family nor the royal court could dissuade John from joining the Society of Jesus and this too with the express wish of "going to the missions".

Immediately after ordination, John sailed for Goa. He finished his final year of theology in Goa and was posted to the Madurai Mission. He learnt Tamil to perfection, "indianised himself" : he turned vegetarian, slept on the floor, wore the red garment and turban of the sanyasi, used wooden footwear and walked about with staff and lota in hand, erected hermitages in the forest.

Opposition came from Brahmins. One of his important followers who asked for baptism was a local prince. The uncle of one of the dismissed wives of the prince took objection when the prince retained one wife of his choice and dismissed the others; the man eventually connived at John's violent death. Oriyur, the place of martyrdom, to date, has red sand around the spot where John was beheaded.