Camillus de Lellis

Saint Camillus de Lellis (Bucchianico, Abruzzo Kingdom of Naples, May 25 1550 – July 14, 1614 at Rome) was an Italian monk who founded a religious order.

Biography
Camillus' mother died while he was still a child and his father was an officer in both the Neapolitan and French royal armies. As a consequence Camillus grew up neglected. Camillus joined the Venetian army while still only a youth. After his regiment was disbanded in 1574 Camillus worked in a hospital for incurables, however his aggressive nature and excessive gambling led to his dismissal. He later rejoined the Venetian army and fought in the war against the Turks in 1569. After the war he later returned to the hospital in Rome from which he had been dismissed, he became a nurse and later director of the hospital.

Camillus established the Order of Clerks Regular Ministers to the Sick, better known as Camillians. His experience in wars led him to establish a group of health care workers who would assist soldiers on the battlefield. The red cross on their cassock remains a symbol of the order today. Members also devoted themselves to the plague-stricken. Camillus was so distressed at how hopeless plague cases were treated during his time, that he formed the "Brothers of the Happy Death," for plague victims. It was for the efforts of the Brothers and his alleged supernatural healings that the people of Rome credited Camillus with ridding the city of a certain plague and, for a time, Camillus became known as the "Patron Saint of Rome".

In 1594 Camillus leaded his friars also to Milan where they attended to the sicks of the Ca' Granda, the main hospital of the city. A memorial tablet in the main courtyard of the Ca' Granda remembers his presence there.

Throughout his life Camillus' ailments caused him suffering but he would permit 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 was beatified in 1742 and canonized by Benedict XIV in 1746.

Veneration
Popularly, Camillus is the patron saint of gamblers and of nurses. His body is located in the altar in the Church of Mary Magdalene, Rome, Italy, 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 realise that this is not your work but mine?" which has become the motto associated with St. Camillus, as well as healthcare workers who follow his charism.