THE
P RTAL
November 2016
Page 19
St Camillus de Lellis
Donato Tallo has been thinking about the
Patron of the sick and Healthcare workers
T
he church of Santa Maria Maddalena can be found in the Piazza della
Maddalena, a short distance from the Pantheon in central Rome. Here in this small and beautiful church
lie the mortal remains of St Camillus de Lellis.
Camillus was born in the year 1550.
He was a soldier in his younger days
and reports suggest he was physically
a very large individual. Camillus had a
problem with gambling when he was
young; he also suffered from a lower
leg wound which was sustained during
his military service and which caused
him many problems.
After his military service, Camillus
worked in manual labour. At the age
of 25 he was converted to the faith
and later entered the novitiate of a
community of Capchuin Friars in
Italy. However, he did not pursue his
vocation within the order. Camillus
later worked at the hospital of San
Giacomo in Rome and was said to be
highly dedicated to the care for the
sick and the dying.
After beginning his work at the
hospital,
Camillus
subsequently
dedicated his entire life to the care of the sick and
dying and seeking to make healthcare better. Fr Philip
Neri, who of course later became St Philip Neri, was
spiritual advisor and confessor to Camillus.
After working in a variety of different healthcare
roles, in his mid thirties Camillus was ordained to
the priesthood. He later founded a religious order
called the Servants of the Sick (better known as the
Camillians). The congregation was approved by the
Holy See in 1586 and raised to the rank of an order
in 1591 with Camillus as its first superior. The order
founded by Camillus is still very much active to this
day although Camillus himself died in 1614.
Camillus was an individual who saw the face of Christ
when he saw people in need and clearly someone who
cared deeply for the spiritual, emotional and physical
needs of those who were sick or dying, believing that
in serving the sick and dying, Jesus Christ himself was
being served.
Camillus was beatified by
Pope Benedict XIV in 1742
and canonised in 1746. He is
invoked as the patron of the sick,
healthcare workers and hospitals.
His feast day is 14th July.
Whenever I am in Rome,
I always make sure I visit
the church of Santa Maria
Maddalena and stop to pray at
the burial site of St Camillus. I
find great inspiration in the life
of this facilitating Saint.
St Camillus de Lellis, pray for
us all ... and especially for the
sick, the dying and for those who
care for them.