Deepertruth: Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Camillus de Lellis

Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Camillus de Lellis 7/18/2024.  At the age of 25 he was converted. He was on his way to Manfredonia in Southern Italy riding horseback when he was so overwhelmed by the sins he had committed and the dissolute life he led, that he fell from his horse. He vowed from this moment to live his life only for God.

By the time of his death, Camillus had established eight hospitals and 15 communities of brothers and priests. His holiness became known through his gifts of prophesy and healings. He died at the age of 64, and was named patron saint of the sick and of nurses. His relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.

We pray that through the loving intercession of St Camillus you would send your Spirit of consolation, encouragement, strength and faith upon those who are burdened by illness, to heal them in mind, body and spirit. We make our prayer through Jesus Christ our loving and healing Saviour, Amen.

Three times between 1571 and 1584 his abscessed leg forced him to seek care in a Roman hospital; each time he worked there during and after his treatment. He was disgusted by the bad care in the hospital and decided a religious order devoted to helping the sick was the best way to better physical and spiritual care.

As superior, he devoted much of his own time to the care of the sick. Charity was his first concern, but the physical aspects of the hospital also received his diligent attention. Camillus insisted on cleanliness and the technical competence of those who served the sick.