π Saint Camillus de Lellis π
Patron saint of the sick β Priest and religious founder
π Born: 25 May 1550, Bucchianico, Chieti, Kingdom of Naples
β°οΈ Died: 14 July 1614 (aged 64), Rome, Papal States
π Venerated in: Catholic Church
βοΈ Beatified: 1742 by Pope Benedict XIV
π Canonized: 1746 by Pope Benedict XIV
ποΈ Major Shrine: Church of Santa Maria Maddalena, Rome, Italy
π
Feast Day: 14 July
18 July (General Roman Calendar, 1762β1969; still in the United States)
π Attributes: A Catholic priest with a large red cross on his cassock, holding a sick person
π Patronage: Sick, hospitals, nurses, physicians
βA heart on fire for the suffering.β
Saint Camillus de Lellis, M.I., (25 May 1550 β 14 July 1614) was an Italian priest who founded a religious Order dedicated to the care of the sick.

After a number of years of military service, his regiment was disbanded in 1575. De Lellis was then forced to work as a laborer at the Capuchin friary at Manfredonia; he was constantly plagued, however, by a leg wound he received while in the army, which would not heal. Despite his aggressive nature and excessive gambling, the guardian of the friary saw a better side to his nature, and continually tried to bring that out in him. Eventually the friar's exhortations penetrated his heart and he had a religious conversion in 1575. He then entered the novitiate of the Capuchin friars. His leg wound, however, had continued to plague him and was declared incurable by the physicians, thus he was denied admission to that Order.
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Incorrupt heart of Saint Camillus de Lellis |
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Shrine dedicated to Saint Camillus, in his hometown of Bucchianico. |
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Interior of the Church of Santa Maria Maddalena, in Rome. |
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Saint Philip Neri with Saint Camillus de Lellis, in glory |
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Chapel of Saint Camillus de Lellis. Church of Santa Maria Maddalena, in Rome. |
Members of the Order also devoted themselves to victims of Bubonic plague. It was due to the efforts of the Brothers and alleged supernatural healings by de Lellis that the people of Rome credited De Lellis with ridding the city of a great plague and the subsequent famine. For a time, he became known as the "Saint of Rome".
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Solemn Transfer of the Relics of Saint Camillus to the Sanctuary Dedicated to Him in His Hometown of Bucchianico |
In 1586 Pope Sixtus V gave the group formal recognition as a Congregation, and assigned them the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Rome, which they still maintain. In 1588 they expanded to Naples and in 1594 St. Camillus led his Religious to Milan where they attended to the sick of the Ca' Granda, the main hospital of the city. A memorial tablet in the main courtyard of the Ca' Granda commemorates his presence there.
Pope Gregory XV raised the Congregation to the status of an Order, equivalent with the mendicant Orders, in 1591. At that time they established a fourth Vow unique to their Order: βto serve the sick, even with danger to oneβs own life."
Throughout his life De Lellis' ailments caused him suffering, but he allowed no one to wait on him and would crawl to visit the sick when unable to stand and walk. It is said that Camillus possessed the gifts of healing and prophecy. He resigned as Superior General of the Order in 1607, but continued to serve as Vicar General of the Order. By that time, communities of the Order had spread all throughout Italy, even as far as Hungary. He assisted in a General Chapter of the Order in 1613, after which he accompanied the new Superior General on an inspection tour of all the hospitals of the Order in Italy. In the course of that tour, he fell ill. He died in Rome in 1614, and was entombed at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene.
Camillus was beatified by Pope Benedict XIV in the year 1742, and canonized by him four years later in 1746.
Popularly, Camillus is the patron saint of the sick, hospitals, nurses and physicians. His assistance is also invoked against gambling.
His mortal remains are located in the altar in the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Rome, along with several of his relics. Also on display is the Cross which allegedly spoke to Camillus, and asked him, "Why are you afraid? Do you not realize that this is not your work but mine?" Which has become the motto associated with St. Camillus, as well as healthcare workers who were inspired by him.
The Congregation of the Servants of the Sick of St Camillus, the Daughters of St Camillus, the Secular Institutes of Missionaries of the Sick Christ Our Hope, of the Kamillianische Schwestern (Camillan Sisters) and of the Lay Camillian Family, were born later of the charism and spirituality of St. Camillus.
St. Camillus' feast day was originally inserted in the General Roman Calendar in 1762 for celebration on 18 July, since 14 July, the day of his death, was at that time taken by the feast of Saint Bonaventure. It was then given the rank of Double, later it was changed in 1962 to that of "Third-Class Feast" and in the liturgical changes of 1969 to that of an obligatory "Memorial", when it was also moved to the anniversary of his death, 14 July. In the U.S.A. it is currently an optional Memorial celebrated on 18 July, because on 14 July there is the obligatory Memorial of St. Kateri Tekakwitha.
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