Congregation founded by San Camilo de Lelis turns 60 in Colombia

Wearing white aprons over their priestly robes, the Camillians tour the hospitals of Colombia to bring patients and families the consolation of Christ, in the face of the reality of illness that often questions the meaning of suffering.

“Saint Camillus said: ‘Be Christ for the sick and see Christ in the sick,’” says Father Diego Cerón, superior of the Colombia-Ecuador Delegation of the Order of Regular Clergy Ministers of the Sick, the congregation that In 1582 he founded San Camilo de Lelis, patron saint of the sick and health workers.

The priest, a native of Huila, explains to ACI Prensa that this work is carried out by the 24 members of the Order in Colombia – 18 priests, 3 deacons and 2 brothers -, all born in the country. In addition, they have 9 young people in training, one of them currently in Peru.

In their daily lives, religious people talk to and accompany workers and patients, and it is not unusual for relatives to approach them in the hallways and ask them to go to the room of their sick person – child or adult – and pray for them, which comfort him, bless him or give him some sacrament.

In the case of children, Father Diego Cerón reports that there have even been cases in which they have administered emergency Baptism, that is, when the minor is in danger of death.

“Suffering has many faces, one of them is illness,” explains the priest, and therefore, accompanying those who suffer from it is the mission “to which the Church is sent, to be a witness to the love of God.”

In the specific case of the Camillians, they focus on “the pastoral care of health, hope and life, because ultimately what the Church promotes is hope and life.”

“Saint Camillus said something very beautiful: ‘I do not promise to take away your pain, but I do promise to accompany you in the midst of illness.’ “Those are the Camilos: we are not going to cure, we are going to be a sign of the presence of God, a living sign,” says the superior of the Colombia-Ecuador Delegation.

This accompaniment includes the celebration of the Holy Mass and the Holy Hour in the chapels of the hospitals assigned to them, including HOMI (children’s) and Santa Clara in Bogotá.

Approach the spiritual dimension

In his experience as chaplain at a hospital in Bogotá, Father Diego Cerón has also encountered patients who, due to the type of illness, face the possibility of dying.

“There their relationship with God is touched,” he explains, because “when someone is in a terminal stage, due to an accident or a very delicate situation,” they reflect on their spiritual dimension as a human being.

The priest points out that in these circumstances the Camillian religious seek to get closer to the patient and his family, whether they are Catholic or not, because “we are simply there to accompany those who live this reality of pain and illness.”

In that sense, he stated, “the Camillian charism is a charism in the heart of the Church, because the Lord said: ‘I have not come for the healthy, but for the sick.’”

This dedication, explains Father Cerón, responds to the fourth vow that the Camillians make, which is “service to the sick, even at the risk of one’s own life.”

This has also brought martyrs to the Order of Saint Camillus of Lelis, such as the more than 300 members of the congregation who died due to the plague that hit Spain, Italy, Hungary and Croatia, and whose commemoration is on May 25. .

In that sense, the priest remembers that several religious were infected with coronavirus during the pandemic, and one even had to be admitted to the ICU. However, “thank God” everyone overcame the illness.

The Camillian Order celebrates 60 years in Colombia

With houses in Bogotá, Bucaramanga, Barranquilla, Medellín and Cali, the Camillian family—religious and lay—will celebrate six decades of uninterrupted presence in Colombia on July 3, a journey that began in 1964 with the arrival of the Italian priests Emilio Stenico, Renzo Roccabruna and Silvestro Caresia, who were joined a month later by Fr. Pietro Merlo.

But this is the second presence of the Order in this part of South America, since the Camillian religious had already served in Colombia between 1766 and 1821, when it was part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada.

However, in a review shared with ACI Prensa, it is reported that the community was reduced “in the midst of the turbulent beginning of the 19th century,” until it became extinct with the death of Father Pedro González in the year 1821.

In that sense, the new arrival in Colombia was due to the interest of the Archbishop of Bogotá, Cardinal Luis Concha (1891-1975), in having the service of the Camillians. Although the superior general, Father Carlos Mansfeld, did not accept because he considered that no province had enough religious, Father Forsenio Vezzani, superior of the Lombardo-Venetian Province (current Province of Northern Italy), expressed the availability of its members. .

Thus, on December 17, 1963, the foundation was approved in Bogotá and since then the Order has been growing, with different charities in the country and extending to Ecuador, where a palliative care center operates.

In Colombia, the celebration for the 60 years will take place on Saturday, June 8 in the Cathedral of Bogotá, with a Solemn Eucharist at 9:00 a.m. and will be attended by representatives of the Order from different parts of the world.