17
Jul
WITH GOD, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE! Three centuries before the establishment of the International Committee of the Red Cross [ICRC], which met for the first time, on February 17, 1863, its ideals and goals were already being promoted – and lived out – by a Catholic Priest and future Saint. Born in Italy on May 25, 1550, Camillus de Lellis, one of the Church’s Patron Saints of: Hospitals, Nurses, Healthcare Workers and the Sick, overcame many challenges, obstacles, human weaknesses and failures, to establish and run an Order of Priests [and eventually Sisters] who ministered to the sick and dying: physically, spiritually, emotionally and psychologically. The habit he adopted was a simple black cassock with a large red cross. [The ICRC’s symbol is a red cross on a white field: an inverted flag of Switzerland, in honor of one of its founding members, the Swiss Henry Dunant.] After praying the Collect for Masses on his Feast Day, which is July 18, I will recap the highlights of his amazing story. He died on July 14, which is when most of the world celebrates his Feast Day – but that is also the Feast Day of the first canonized Native American, Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, so his Feast Day is transferred in some places to July 18.
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Collect – Saint Camillus de Lellis, Priest 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. |
AN UNLIKELY SAINTHOOD CANDIDATE. The future Saint was neglected by his father, a military man who was often off to war; his mother, who was nearly 50 when he was born, kept him away from his hot-tempered father. When Camillus was just 13, his mother died, so he joined his father in the military where he was exposed to, and succumbed to, many vile habits. His worst addiction was to gambling; eventually, he lost everything: savings, weapons, and even the proverbial shirt off his back! He also developed a serious leg infection of unknown causes and which never fully healed; its cause may have been a war-wound, disease or accident. It kept him hospitalized for almost year, but due to his quarrelsome nature, the staff expelled him.
GOD CUT HIM NO CORNERS. Penniless and physically impaired, when Camillus was about 24, he began working as a laborer at a Franciscan monastery, where he was so inspired by one monk’s homily that he sought admission as a friar. But due to his past, his physical limitations, and crude personality, they rejected him – not once, not twice, but three times! So, he returned to the hospital that had expelled him to offer his services to care for the sick. As he had experienced as a patient, things were deplorable: the staff had little concern for the sick; little, if any spiritual support was offered to them; and the facilities were filthy. Eventually, as its superintendent, he literally turned the place around!
GOOD ROLE MODELS. Under the guidance of the future Saint John of the Cross and Saint Philip Neri, Camillus, trained for and, at the age of 34, was finally ordained to the Priesthood. Soon after, he began to form his own Religious Order of men whose sole mission was to care for the sick. In addition to the three vows Religious Priests make: Obedience, Chastity and Poverty, he added a fourth vow: they would care for those with infectious diseases, even if it cost them their life! [Diocesan Priests like me do NOT make vows; we make two Promises: Obedience and Celibacy.]
MOVED TO MAKE THINGS BETTER. In 1595, he and His Order – once called the Order of Clerks Regular, Ministers of the Infirm, now known as the Camillians – formed the first recorded military field ambulance! They willingly entered plague-infested galleys to care for the dying. When Camillus learned that some who were mistakenly thought to be dead had been buried alive, he mandated that Prayers for the Dying be offered up to 15 minutes after someone’s apparent death.
Saint Camillus de Lellis died on July 14, 1614, was beatified in 1742, and canonized in 1746. He is still an inspiration to those who, at the risk of their own health or life, minister to the sick and dying. Saint Camillus de Lellis, pray for them – and for us!
With God’s love and my prayers,
Very Rev. Michael J. Kreder, VF, KCHS
WITH GOD, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE! Three centuries before the establishment of the International Committee of the Red Cross [ICRC], which met for the first time, on February 17, 1863, its ideals and goals were already being promoted – and lived out – by a Catholic Priest and future Saint. Born in Italy on May 25, 1550, Camillus de Lellis, one of the Church’s Patron Saints of: Hospitals, Nurses, Healthcare Workers and the Sick, overcame many challenges, obstacles, human weaknesses and failures, to establish and run an Order of Priests [and eventually Sisters] who ministered to the sick and dying: physically, spiritually, emotionally and psychologically. The habit he adopted was a simple black cassock with a large red cross. [The ICRC’s symbol is a red cross on a white field: an inverted flag of Switzerland, in honor of one of its founding members, the Swiss Henry Dunant.] After praying the Collect for Masses on his Feast Day, which is July 18, I will recap the highlights of his amazing story. He died on July 14, which is when most of the world celebrates his Feast Day – but that is also the Feast Day of the first canonized Native American, Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, so his Feast Day is transferred in some places to July 18.
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Collect – Saint Camillus de Lellis, Priest 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. |
AN UNLIKELY SAINTHOOD CANDIDATE. The future Saint was neglected by his father, a military man who was often off to war; his mother, who was nearly 50 when he was born, kept him away from his hot-tempered father. When Camillus was just 13, his mother died, so he joined his father in the military where he was exposed to, and succumbed to, many vile habits. His worst addiction was to gambling; eventually, he lost everything: savings, weapons, and even the proverbial shirt off his back! He also developed a serious leg infection of unknown causes and which never fully healed; its cause may have been a war-wound, disease or accident. It kept him hospitalized for almost year, but due to his quarrelsome nature, the staff expelled him.
GOD CUT HIM NO CORNERS. Penniless and physically impaired, when Camillus was about 24, he began working as a laborer at a Franciscan monastery, where he was so inspired by one monk’s homily that he sought admission as a friar. But due to his past, his physical limitations, and crude personality, they rejected him – not once, not twice, but three times! So, he returned to the hospital that had expelled him to offer his services to care for the sick. As he had experienced as a patient, things were deplorable: the staff had little concern for the sick; little, if any spiritual support was offered to them; and the facilities were filthy. Eventually, as its superintendent, he literally turned the place around!
GOOD ROLE MODELS. Under the guidance of the future Saint John of the Cross and Saint Philip Neri, Camillus, trained for and, at the age of 34, was finally ordained to the Priesthood. Soon after, he began to form his own Religious Order of men whose sole mission was to care for the sick. In addition to the three vows Religious Priests make: Obedience, Chastity and Poverty, he added a fourth vow: they would care for those with infectious diseases, even if it cost them their life! [Diocesan Priests like me do NOT make vows; we make two Promises: Obedience and Celibacy.]
MOVED TO MAKE THINGS BETTER. In 1595, he and His Order – once called the Order of Clerks Regular, Ministers of the Infirm, now known as the Camillians – formed the first recorded military field ambulance! They willingly entered plague-infested galleys to care for the dying. When Camillus learned that some who were mistakenly thought to be dead had been buried alive, he mandated that Prayers for the Dying be offered up to 15 minutes after someone’s apparent death.
Saint Camillus de Lellis died on July 14, 1614, was beatified in 1742, and canonized in 1746. He is still an inspiration to those who, at the risk of their own health or life, minister to the sick and dying. Saint Camillus de Lellis, pray for them – and for us!
With God’s love and my prayers,
Very Rev. Michael J. Kreder, VF, KCHS