John Berchmans was the eldest son of a shoemaker named John Charles Berchmans and his wife Elizabeth. Raised in a devout Catholic family during a time of religious conflict in the Low Countries, he showed an early desire for religious life. At age thirteen, he became a servant in the household of Canon John Froymont at Mechelen (Malines), which allowed him to continue his studies despite his family’s financial difficulties.

Inspired by the example of St. Aloysius Gonzaga and English Jesuit martyrs, he decided to join the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) despite opposition from his family. He entered the Jesuit novitiate on 24 September 1616.

After taking his first vows in 1618, Berchmans was sent to Rome to study philosophy at the Roman College (now the Pontifical Gregorian University). He was known for his diligence, cheerfulness, humility, and devotion to daily duties-summed up in his motto: “Not so much doing great things as doing well what one is told to do.”

Berchmans died young, at age twenty-two, on 13 August 1621, after falling ill with fever and dysentery in Rome.
He was beatified by Pope Pius IX in 1865 and canonized by Pope Leo XIII on 15 January, 1888. His heart is preserved as a relic in Leuven (Louvain), Belgium.

St. John Berchmans is honored worldwide, with schools and churches named after him.