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Also known as:
Camillus de Lellis; Camillo de Lellis
Profile
Son of a military officer who had served both for Naples and France. His
mother died when he was very young. Spent his youth as a soldier, fighting
for the Venetians against the Turks, and then for Naples. Reported as a
large individual, perhaps as tall as 6'6", and powerfully built. A
gambling addict, he lost so much he had to take a job working construction
on a building belonging to the Capuchins; they converted him.
He entered the Capuchin noviate three times, but a nagging leg injury,
received while fighting the Turks, each time forced him to give up. He
went to Rome for medical treatment where Saint Philip Neri became his
priest and confessor. He moved into San Giacomo Hospital for the
incurable, and eventually became its administrator. Lacking education, he
began to study with children when he was 32 years old. Priest. Founded the
Congregation of the Servants of the Sick (the Camellians) who, naturally,
care for the sick both in hospital and home. The order expanded with
houses in several countries. Camillus honored the sick as living images of
Christ, and hoped that the service he gave them did penance for his
wayward youth.
Born
1550 at Bocchiavico, Abruzzi, kingdom of Naples, Italy
Died
14 July 1614 at Genoa, Italy
Beatified
1742
Canonized
1746 by Pope Benedict XIV
Patronage
bodily ills, hospitals, hospital workers, illness, nurses, sick people,
sickness
Readings
Think well. Speak well. Do well. These three things, through the mercy of
God, will make a man go to Heaven.
Saint Camillus de Lellis
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Let me begin with holy charity. It is the root of all the virtues and
Camillus' most characteristic trait. I can attest that he was on fire with
this holy virtue - not only toward God, but also toward his fellow men,
and especially toward the sick. The mere sight of the sick was enough to
soften and melt his heart and make him utterly forget all the pleasures,
enticements, and interests of this world. When he was taking care of his
parents, he seemed to spend and exhaust himself completely, so great was
his devotion and compassion. He would have loved to take upon himself all
their illness, their every affliction, could he but ease their pain and
relieve their weakness.
In the sick he saw the person of Christ. His reverence in their presence
was as great as if he were really and truly in the presence of his Lord.
To enkindle the enthusiasm of his religious brothers for this
all-important virtue, he used to impress upon them the consoling words of
Jesus Christ: "I was sick and you visited me." He seemed to have these
words truly graven on his heart, so often did he say them over and over
again.
Great and all-embracing was Camillus' charity. Not only the sick and
dying, but every other needy or suffering human being found shelter in his
deep and kind concern.
from a biography of Saint Camillus by a contemporary
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