Saint Camillus de Lellis, reformer of hospital care

Saint Camillus was born in a village in Italy's Abruzzo region of Naples. He joined the army, where he developed an addiction to gambling. He eventually gambled away everything he had, and was dismissed. He worked at various jobs, then took a job working as a laborer at a Capuchin friary. It was there that he converted and applied for admission. But an incurable, running leg sore prevented him from entering a monastery. He became a nurse at the Hospital of Saint James of the Incurables in Rome, where he strived to see Christ in every patient and, having finally become a priest, founded the Order of the Ministers of the Infirm (Camillians). He died on July 14, 1614.

Ecstasy of Saint Camillus de Lellis by Cristobal Lozano, 1762, Lima Art Museum / © CC0/wikimedia

Reasons to believe:

Nothing in Camillus' early nature - he had a violent temper and an obstinate self-will - and lifestyle as a hired soldier and later a tramp, and compulsive gambler, could have predicted his future conversion: the abysmal difference, both psychologically and spiritually, between the young Camillus and the adult convert is impossible to understand from a strictly human perspective.

Camillus didn't manage to keep his first job as a hospital worker because he coudn't get rid of his aggressive nature and excessive gambling. It seemed highly unlikely that he would return to working with the sick after that first experience. However, everything changed when he became convinced that, in caring for the sick, it was really Christ's wounds he was caring for. His wisdom and ardent charity aroused confidence and admiration, leading to his appointment as superintendant of the hospital, and young people joined him to learn from him.

Camillus suffered the disease of his leg through his life, leaving him crippled and in a great deal of pain. Driven by an extraordinary resilience, he continued to serve the sick until his death. "Now a frail man, he went from one bed to another, holding on to the bed posts to steady himself. But after passing five or six beds, he looked stronger."(P. Sanzio Cicatelli, †1627, in his biography of St Camillus de Lellis Vita Del P. Camillo De Lellis).

The important reforms in nursing care that Camillus implemented make him the precursor of modern health care. Charity was his first concern, but practical training and methods in hospital practices also received his diligent attention. Camillus insisted on cleanliness and the technical competence of those who served the sick. But he also believed in "complete service to the sick", where spiritual care was not neglected. This holistic approach was a departure from the practices of the time.

Today still, following the example of their founder, the Camillians are present on five continents and bear witness to Christ's love for the sick and those on the margins of society by serving them in priority.

Summary:

The son of an officer, Camillus de Lilles was born on May 25, 1550, in the village of Bucchianico, in the Abruzzi region of Italy. His mother had him when she was almost 50; she was good and pious but with a retiring nature, and she died when he was 13, leaving Camillus to follow his father from one military camp to another before joining the army altogether at 16, and to inherit his father's temper and tendency to gamble. His education was neglected and his weak religious upbringing had little hold on him. Camillus joined his father in the Venetian army and fought in a war against the Turks. He was discharged in 1574 when his regiment was disbanded.

His years of military life did not make Camillus a better man. On the contrary, gambling became his main occupation, traveling from town to town, until he had lost all his possessions. His companions were a quarrelsome and violent crowd. At age 20, the future saint was living a life of vagrancy, yielding to all his passions.

But grace did reach him over time, and God manifested himself to him for the first time in an obvious way in the person of a Capuchin, who told him: "God is everything. The rest is nothing. You must save your soul, which does not die." This providential encounter led Camillus to discover an unknown continent of hope and goodness that he had not suspected existed. Thanks to this friar, Camillus saw the world in a new light for a time, and realised that his eyes had been opened to an invisible reality, not by any personal effort, but by the Lord's intervention.

He now knew that his life must be lived out in service of the Gospel, by making known this Jesus who had rescued him from his passions. Covered in debt, he had to start by treating the ulcer on his leg, which was causing him so much pain. He knocked on the door of the Capuchins as much for material reasons as for spiritual ones, but his condition prevented him from being admitted. His time had not come. God's patience is infinite.

What could he do? He went to Rome, where he found a nursing job at the St James Hospital of the Incurables. With no medical training or experience of working with the sick, Camillus hesitated, weighing up the advantages and disadvantages of the position. He was tempted to leave, but needed money for surgery. During the time of his employment, he gradually slipped back into his bad habits, and was a bad influence on the rest of the staff, and was eventually expelled from the hospital for quarrelling and gambling. Another failure.

There was only one way left for him to make a living: to rejoin the army. He enlisted in the service of the Republic of Venice, taking part in the campaign against the Turks in 1569, including the Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571. When that military campaign was over, Camillus was unemployed again. This time he was hired by the Capuchins of Manfredonia (in Apulia) to build a new monastery. God was going to meet him there.

In the first weeks of his new life, Camillus' addiction to gambling continued to consume him. Until he met a pious Capuchin, the community's guardian, who was once plagued by the same vice. This friar saw a better side to Camillus' 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. This friar told Camillus squarely that he should convert, because God, however patient he may be, would not allow him to keep on living this kind of life forever. After a few months, Camillus asked to be admitted as a lay brother. However, his leg wound made it very difficult for him to perform the material tasks assigned to him and the monastery nurse was unable to help him, so he soon had to return to civilian life.

Once again, Camillus was left to his own devices. Without family or real friends, his future was more uncertain than ever. But his time spent with the Capuchins left a lasting impression on him. He fondly remembered the day and night offices of prayer, and keenly felt the contrast between the supernatural charity among religious brothers and the absence of it in the world.

He returned to Saint James' Hospital of the Incurables in Rome and became a caregiver to pay for his stay. This time the condition of his leg improved. His hard work and dedication led to his appointment as Superintendent. He made the decision to devote the rest of his life to care for the sick. He strived to love his patients and not just nurse their body. Camillus was beginning to become a new man, and to finally experience peace.

He had heard of the popular priest Fr. Philip Neri, founder of the Congregation of the Oratory and later declared saint, and of his wonderful charity towards great sinners, so he took him as his spiritual director and confessor. Neri saw a great potential in Camillus, who was by then following a strict ascetic life, performing many penances, including the constant wearing of a hairshirt. On Neri's advice, Camillus decided to study for the priesthood, an idea that had never entered his mind until he was 32. He painstakingly studied Latin at the Jesuit College and then went on to study theology. He was ordained to the priesthood in a state of incredible mysticism. The young priest divided his time between his pastoral responsibilities and hospital duty, but he made no difference between these two sides of ministering, since he was serving Christ in the sick.

Soon, Camillus sensed that God was asking more of him, but he didn't yet know what. In 1584, he realised that service to the sick could only happen through both prayer (personal and community prayer) and solid nursing training. After considering the existing religious orders and congregations, he formed the project to found an institute whose members would pledge to devote themselves to the sick, no matter the risk to their lives.

Camillus entrusted this project to the Lord. When he felt certain that it was God's will, he instituted the Order of Clerics Regular for the Sick (Camillian fathers). The following year, Pope Sixtus V confirmed this new and original congregation of charity. The pontiff also decided that the Superior General would be elected every three years. Camillus was the first among them. He fulfilled his duties with exemplary humility. In 1591, Gregory XIV established the congregation as a religious order. Its privileges were confirmed by Clement VIII three years later. A surprising success for a repentant gambler who had once been so far from the faith!

One detail, which is sometimes overlooked, should be mentioned: the infirmity that had prevented Camillus from joining the Capuchins was to afflict him until his death. But he never complained, and concentrated all his energies to visiting the sick - which was for him a means to touch their souls.

The following years were marked by the multiplication of Camillian communities throughout Italy. Gifted with the gift of prophecy and the ability to perform miracles, Camillus de Lellis gave up his soul to God on July 14, 1614. He was buried in a simple fashion near the main altar of the church of Santa Maria Magdalena in Rome. Beatified in 1742, then canonised by Pope Benedict XIV in 1746, Pius XI made him and Saint John of God co-patrons of nurses in 1930. For more than four centuries, Saint Camillus de Lellis has been a major figure of Christian charity.

Patrick Sbalchiero

Beyond reasons to believe:

The long years of Camillus's struggles and chaotic life shows Christ's supernatural patience with him.

Going further:

The Life of St. Camillus of Lellis Founder of The Clerks Regular Servants of the Sick by Sanzio Cicatelli, London T. Richardson and Son, 1850

More information:

Camillus de Lellis: The Hospital Saint by Sister Mary Camilla Lyons, Benziger brothers · 1917 (Digitized version)
A Soldier Surrenders: The Conversion of Saint Camillus de Lellis by Susan Peek, Seven Swords Publications (December 8, 2015) Young adult book
Mirella Castelli, Un soldato della carità: Camillo De Lellis, Turin, Marietti, 2007.
Mario Spinelli, Camillo De Lellis. Più cuore in quelle mani, Rome, Città Nuova, 2007.
Servants of the Sick website.