Saint of the Day: St. Camillus de Lellis

Founder of the Servants of the Sick (1550-1614)

His life

+ Camillus was born in the Abruzzi region of Italy and was a successful soldier.

+ A giant of a man (he was 6’6” tall), Camillus also had a quick temper. A gambling addiction left him all but destitute and he developed a painful ulcer on his right leg which never healed and caused him pain for the rest of his life.

+ When he was at his lowest point, he met a Capuchin Franciscan friar who helped Camillus turn his life around. Camillus eventually decided to dedicate his life to serving Christ in the sick-poor.

+ After being ordained a priest, Camillus gathered together a group of disciples, forming a new religious community—the Order of Servants of the Sick (the “Camillians”). Camillus was known for his charity toward the sick, but also a gifted nurse who was demanded cleanliness and technical knowledge from the members of his community.

+ Camillus ordered the members of his order to wear a red cross on their habit as a reminder that their only motivation should be to follow Christ by spending their lives in service of the sick. There is no connection between the distinctive red cross worn by the Camillians and the symbol later adopted as the official emblem of the American Red Cross. 

+ Saint Camillus de Lellis died in 1614 and was canonized in 1746. He is honored as a patron saint of hospitals, nurses, and of all who serve the sick. 

For prayer and reflection
“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 contemporary account of the life of Saint Camillus

Spiritual bonus

On July 18 we also remember Blessed Carlos de Dios Murias. After studying civil engineering, he discerned a call to religious life and entered the Conventual Franciscans. Ordained a priest in 1972. He was participated in the peace and justice works of the “Third World Movement of Priests” and, with Blessed Gabriel Longueville, he established a local community of Franciscans to support the work of peasants in their struggles against powerful landowners. Because of these efforts he was kidnapped, imprisoned and tortured before being murdered by federal police on July 18, 1976, in Chamical, La Rioja, Argentina. Blessed Carlos was beatified in 2019.

Prayer

O God, who adorned the Priest Saint Camillus
with a singular grace of charity towards the sick,
pour out upon us, by his merits,
a spirit of love for you,
so that, serving you in our neighbor,
we may, at the hour of our death,
pass safely over to you.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal)
Saint profiles prepared by Fr. Silas Henderson, S.D.S.