Saints from A to Z: Letter C

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I've finished another post that has been in my drafts for two years! Esteban has been asking me to post some of these biographies to go along with his art, so without further ado...one of my favorite saints! He's a sort of a "twin" saint to St. Augustine, as he had a huge conversion later in life. 

Clues:

CLUE 1: My early life was hard- my mother died when I was only 12 years old and my father was often away as a solider. 

CLUE 2: St. Philip Neri was my spiritual director who encouraged me to enter the priesthood. 

CLUE 3: I was a priest in Italy, who founded the Camillians. 

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It is Saint Camillus de Lellis!

(credit)

Can a gambler become a saint? Let's look into the life of St. Camillus de Lellis because that is how his road to conversion started- with a love for gambling...

St. Camillus de Lellis was born in 1550 in modern day Italy. From a young age he endured much suffering: his mother died when he was barely a teenager and his father, being a solider, was often away at war. Eventually, Camillus himself joined the army with his father. As one can imagine, this was a horrible idea and led to much trouble, but God was watching out for him all along. 

At the age of 17, a disease on his leg gave him an incurable sore, one that would last his entire lifetime and be the source of his conversion. (Isn't it truly amazing the way God works good through evil in every instance of our lives?!) While doctors had difficulty curing his leg, Camillus never gave up and found work at a friary. There he had his conversion when a friar spoke the words "God is everything. The rest is nothing. One should save one's soul which does not die". At this point, he realized how much he had wasted his life, how much more he could do to help others grow closer to Christ. 

A few years after his great conversion, he entered the Capuchin friars, but was sent away due to his incurable sore on his leg. He tried to enter a monastery another time but was sent away, again for his leg sore. 

Finally, God blessed him with his love for the sick- he became the hospital director. Since his conversion had such an impact on his life, he began to live a life of penance and was charitable to all who encountered him. He treated each patient as though he were speaking with Christ Himself. One event led to another...

until he met St. Philip Neri, who became his spiritual director and sent him to seminary. At the age of 34, St. Camillus de Lellis was ordained to the priesthood. He founded his own order, called the Order of Clerks Regular, Ministers of the Infirm (M.I.), now known as the Camillians. He devoted himself to caring for the sick and dying out of pure charity; no one was left alone. Camillus and all of the brothers in his order took a forth vow of "service to the sick poor, including the palgue-ridden, in their corporeal and spiritual needs, even at risk to their own life, having to do this out of sincere love for God." 

In his final illness, Camillus was administering to the needs of others, despite his great pain. He had such great compassion for their physical needs, but he wanted more than anything to save their souls and bring them to Christ before death. 

Patron of: hospitals, nurses, the sick, and physicians 

Feast: July 18

Sources:

https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-camillus-de-lellis/

A Solider Surrenders by Susan Peek (I HIGHLY recommend this book! This is how St. Camillus became one of my favorite saints of all time. :) )

Let us be inspired by St. Camillus and not be discouraged by our past failings and sins, but be enlightened by the mercy of God and persevere in all things! 

 Be sure to check out Esteban's drawing of St. Camillus here. 

St. Camillus de Lellis, pray for us! 

Who is your favorite saint who was a priest? 

-Miss K