He received the tonsure while still a youth, according to the custom of the times, after which his father procured for him the benefice of the neighboring parish of Tornillo.

Cartagena had him educated at his own residence, gave him several prebends, ordained him a priest in the year 1445, and made him a canon at the Cathedral of Burgos.

[5] During this time he exercised the ministry at the chapel of the College of St. Bartholomew (in the Parish of St Sebastian), and held that position for nine years.

As preacher, he drew large crowds; the Duke of Alba complained when John denounced not only the sins of common people, but also those of the nobility.

[3] Upon his recovery in the year 1463, González applied for admission to the Order of Hermits of St. Augustine, at the Monastery of St. Peter, from that point on, being known simply as Brother (or Friar) John.

Some women of Salamanca, embittered by the saint's strong sermon against extravagance in dress, openly insulted him in the streets and pelted him with stones until stopped by a patrol of guards.

[5] By mid-1479 John's health began to fail and it was rumored in the city that he had been poisoned by a woman in retaliation for his condemnation of the immoral lifestyle of a public figure.

In the 1969 revision of the Roman liturgical celebration was left to local calendars because of the limited importance attributed to him on a universal level.