Saint of the day July 14: San Camilo de Lelis. Catholic Saints

Every July 14, the Catholic Church celebrates San Camilo de LelisItalian saint of the 17th century, founder of the Congregation of Ministers of the Sick and Martyrs of Charity, known today as the Camillian or Camillian Fathers.

Saint Camillus is the patron saint of health professionals and hospitals.

At the forefront of healthcare

The ‘Camilo Fathers’, under the inspiration of their founder, have been the ones who gave rise to what we know today as “nursing”, particularly through the figure of the “war nurses”.

In other words, this noble profession appeared at least two centuries before any of the modern assistance institutions, such as, for example, the “Red Cross” – an organization also of Catholic inspiration that emerged in the second half of the 19th century.

Win the most important battle

Camillus de Lelis was born in Bucchianico (Chieti, Italy) in 1550. He was soon orphaned by his mother. His father would not last long either, since being a soldier and mercenary, he died a few years later.

Camilo, following his father’s example, joined the Venetian army that fought against the Turks. While on campaign he contracted an illness that affected one of his legs, an illness that would afflict him for the rest of his life. This ailment would cause abscesses in his foot that would reappear again and again.

After being unable to do so, he was admitted to the San Giacomo hospital in Rome, where years later he would collaborate as a servant. Unfortunately, that experience did not end very well, because after a few months he was fired due to his indomitable spirit. Thus, with failure on his shoulders, Camilo would return to the ranks of the Venetian army to face the Turks again.

That didn’t last long either. Camilo retired from military life, finding refuge in gambling. Gambling became his greatest weakness and an uncontrollable vice. He once lost everything in a game of cards, even the shirt he was wearing. Then, plunged into misery, he found work building a Capuchin convent in Manfredonia.

His new work became the perfect means for the Lord to touch his heart. Camilo began to listen to the sermons in the temple and attend the liturgy. Little by little his interior was opening to grace, until the day came when he would admit that he was a slave to his sins. Thus he too could know the mercy of God.

He recognized in his heart that he had lived a very bad life, and that, despite this, Jesus gave him an opportunity that he had not anticipated: to live fully, serving Him and others.

Face to face with pain

During that strong time, young Camilo relied a lot on the Capuchin fathers and came to think that God was calling him to be one of them. He entered the Order of Friars Minor, but could not profess any vow because of the problem with his leg. Then, he returned to the San Giacomo hospital and dedicated himself to caring for the sick. He did such a good job there that he was named superintendent of the hospital.

The innumerable spiritual and material needs suffered by those admitted to that facility awakened in Camilo the idea of ​​founding an association made up of anyone who wanted to dedicate themselves to the care of the sick. Meanwhile, with the spiritual accompaniment of one of his most famous contemporaries, Saint Philip Neri, he prepared to receive Holy Orders.

Hospitals, prisons and battlefields

Father Camillus, together with two of his companions, founded the Congregation of the Servants of the Sick in 1582. The founding group left the Hospital of San Giacomo and moved to the Hospital of the Holy Spirit.

Every day the “Camilos” attended to the patients there, trying to do so as if each one were Christ himself. They not only worried about their physical health, but also began to teach catechism and administer the necessary sacraments.

The service of the congregation expanded and new calls appeared: the Camillians took on the care of the sick in prisons and, at the same time, they began to make rounds of visits to those who could not leave their homes.

San Camilo’s next challenge was to send religious to the side of the army troops so that, when the time came, they could care for the wounded. Many religious died in this sacrificial service, whether as a result of fighting or infected by the plague. Saint Camillus and his brothers heroically stood by the soldiers even in the midst of the most extreme circumstances.

News about the commendable work of the Camillians reached the ears of Pope Saint Gregory XIV, who in 1591 granted them the status of a religious order with the name of the Order of Ministers of the Sick. The name was chosen by Saint Camillus to indicate that the members of the institution had Christ as their model exclusively, the one who said: “I have not come to be served, but to serve and give my life” (Mt 20:28).

Sharing the sufferings of Christ

The patron saint of the sick always suffered because of his leg, which from time to time improved and from time to time made him suffer again. There was a time when two painful sores appeared on the soles of his feet, which remained open for years. Finally, nausea and difficulty eating were added in the last stage of his life. Even so, Saint Camillus would not stop worrying about “his children”, the sick.

In 1607 he resigned from the leadership of the Order. He left for the Father’s House a few years later, on July 14, 1614, at 64 years of age. Pope Leo XIII proclaimed him patron of the sick along with Saint John of God, and Pope Pius XI declared him patron and model of health workers.

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If you want to know more about Saint Camillus, we invite you to read this article from the Catholic Encyclopedia: https://ec.aciprensa.com/wiki/San_Camilo_de_Lellis.