![CamilInf](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/CamilInf.jpg)
The Camillians or
Clerics Regular
Clerics regular are clerics (mostly priests) who are members of a religious order under a rule of life (regular). Clerics regular differ from canons regular in that they devote themselves more to pastoral care, in place of an obligation to the p ...
, Ministers to the Sick ( la, Clerci Regulari Ministeri Infirmaribus) are a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
religious order
A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practi ...
, founded in 1582 by St.
Camillus de Lellis
Camillus de Lellis, M.I., (25 May 1550 – 14 July 1614) was a Roman Catholic priest from Italy who founded the Camillians, a religious order dedicated to the care of the sick. He was beatified by Pope Benedict XIV in the year 1742, and ...
(1550-1614). A large
red cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
was chosen by the founder as the distinguishing badge for the members of the Order to wear upon their black
cassock
The cassock or soutane is a Christian clerical clothing coat used by the clergy and male religious of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, in addition to some clergy in certain Protestant denomi ...
s, which was later adopted as the international symbol of medical care. In the past, because of the red cross on their apparel, they were also referred to as the ''Crociferi''. As of 2018, 1080 Camillians serve in 35 countries. They use the
postnominal
Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...
initials of M.I. (Ministri degli Infermi).
History
Camillus de Lellis
Camillus lived much of his early life as a soldier, following his father's path. When his regiment was disbanded, he happened to find work as a laborer for a
Capuchin friary
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
. One of the friars led him to a religious conversion, after which he sought admission to the Capuchin Order. The Capuchins were willing to accept de Lellis as a candidate. He had sustained a leg wound, however, in the course of his military career, which would not heal. After examination, it was declared incurable by physicians. He then moved to
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, where he took up residence in a hospital dedicated to the care of the incurably ill, the
San Giacomo degli Incurabili
The hospital of ''San Giacomo in Augusta'' (Saint James in Augusta), also known as San Giacomo degli Incurabili (Saint James of the Incurables) was a historic hospital located in Rome.
History
The Hospital was built for the first time in 1349 by ...
. As he progressed in his spiritual life, he noticed the poor care given the patients by the attendants of the hospital.
[Sicari, Antonio. ''Ritratti di Santi'', Jaca]
/ref>
Order of the Ministers of the Sick
De Lellis invited some young men he had come to know through his religious circles to care for the patients for a more concrete expression of their faith. They began to work at the Ospedale di Santo Spirito in Sassia
The Hospital of the Holy Spirit ( it, L'Ospedale di Santo Spirito in Sassia) is the oldest hospital in Europe, located in Rome, Italy. It now serves as a convention center. The complex lies in rione Borgo, east of Vatican City and next to the mo ...
in Rome, and demonstrated a level of commitment, which caused him to consider forming a religious community to provide this care for the sick. He received Holy Orders to this end, and both he and his disciples took religious vows
Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views.
In the Buddhism tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana tradition, many different kinds of re ...
. De Lellis thereby established the Order of Clerics Regular, Ministers to the Sick.[
His experience in wars led him to establish a group of ]health care
Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...
workers who would assist soldiers on the battlefield. In response to a request of the Pope, Camillus sent religious to Hungary to care for wounded or sick soldiers. The large, red cross on their religious habit
A religious habit is a distinctive set of religious clothing worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally some plain garb recognizable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious eremitic and anchoritic life, ...
s, which they adopted as a sign of their vocation to medical care, remains a symbol of the Order. Camillians today continue to identify themselves with this emblem on their habits, a symbol universally recognized today as the sign of charity and service. This was the original Red Cross, hundreds of years before the International Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...
was formed. In 1586 the group obtained the approval of Pope Sixtus V
Pope Sixtus V ( it, Sisto V; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order ...
and in 1591 Pope Gregory XIV
Pope Gregory XIV ( la, Gregorius XIV; it, Gregorio XIV; 11 February 1535 – 16 October 1591), born Niccolò Sfondrato or Sfondrati, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 December 1590 to his death in October ...
gave them the status of an Order with the name of ‘Order of the Ministers of the Sick’.[Ordine dei Ministri degli Infermi]
/ref>
According to Camillians, during the siege of Nagykanizsa
During the siege of Naģykanizsa ( tr, Kanije Savunması, lit=The Defence of Kanizsa) in 1601, a small Ottoman Empire, Ottoman force held the fortress of Nagykanizsa, Naģykanizsa in western Kingdom of Hungary, Hungary against a much larger c ...
in 1601, while Camillians were busily occupied with the wounded, the tent in which they were tending to the sick and in which they had all of their equipment and supplies was completely destroyed and burned to the ground. Everything in the tent was destroyed, except for the red cross of the habit belonging to one of the Camillians who was ministering to the wounded on the battlefield. This event was taken by the community as manifesting divine approval of the Red Cross of St. Camillus.
It was due to the efforts of the Brothers and alleged supernatural healings by de Lellis that the people of Rome credited De Lellis with ridding the city of a great plague and the subsequent famine. For a time, he became known as the "Saint of Rome". By the time of his death in 1614, Camillians served in eight hospitals, including ones in Naples, Genoa, Milan and Mantua.[
In 1630 a plague devastated the north and centre of Italy. Over a hundred Camillians provided assistance to the plague-stricken and fifty-six religious died while providing them service. In the years 1656-57 another plague in Italy led to the death of eighty-six Camillian religious who were looking after the plague-stricken.][ Annually, on May 25 the order commemorates the "Camillian Martyrs of Charity", all those Camillian priests and brothers who died after contracting diseases in the course of ministering to the sick.][
]
Expansion
The Irish province developed from the French Province. Started by Fr. Terence O'Rourke in Westmeath in 1935, it became an official province in 1946. After the war the Irish Province spread to England, set up houses in Birmingham, London and Hexham and became known as the Anglo-Irish Province. During the early 60s, two members were sent to Perth, Australia. In 2000 the Anglo-Irish Province opened a Mission in Uganda. As of 2014, there were fifteen members of the Anglo-Irish Province.
The presence of the Camillians in Asia, which began in 1943 in China. In Taiwan the order operates the 700 bed St. Mary's Hospital, a 230-bed center for the mentally disabled, a home for the elderly with 150 beds, and a nursing school with more than 3 thousand students.
Camillians arrived in Thailand in 1952. A small clinic in Baan Pong, Ratchaburi province, later became San Camillo Hospital. They also run Camillian Hospital.
In 1975, the first Camillian Community in the Philippines was established in Quezon City under the Lombardo-Venetian Province. The Vice-Province in India was first established in 1980 in Kerala by Fr. Antonio Crotti of the Lombardo Venetian (Italy) Province. In 1997, Camillians undertook a healthcare initiative for the care and support of people living with HIV. This is in addition, and complementary to their ministries in pastoral care, especially with palliative care for cancer patients, and in jail ministry.[Order of St. Camillus, India](_blank)
/ref>
The order runs fifty-six hospitals in Brazil.[ In the U.S. it operates a number of home health care services.
]
Current status
As of 2018, the Order of St. Camillus serves in 42 countries.[Order of St. Camillus USA]
/ref> The Order is made up of about 1080 priests and brothers, engaged in a variety of ministries. The priests work mainly in the area of spiritual care for the sick and the brothers provide trained physical care. Besides the common three vows, the members of the Order take a fourth vow to serve the poor sick, even when they are infectious, even at the risk to their own lives.
When flooding would periodically cause the Tiber River to top its banks, Camillus worked to bring the patients of the Hospital of the Holy Spirit to safety. Today the Camillian Task Force Order responds to natural or man-made disasters.[ Members of the Lay Camillian Family work beside the Camillians in various ministries as nurses, caregivers, pastoral caregivers, and extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist.
]The Very Reverend
The Very Reverend is a Style (manner of address), style given to members of the clergy. The definite article "The" should always precede "Reverend" as "Reverend" is a style or fashion and not a title.
Catholic
In the Catholic Church, the style i ...
Father Renato Salvatore, M.I., is the current Superior General
A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of a religious institute in the Catholic Church and some other Christian denominations. The superior general usually holds supreme executive authority in the religious community, while t ...
, as of September 2012. He was named by Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...
to serve as one of the papally-appointed, non-episcopal
Episcopal may refer to:
*Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church
*Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese
*Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name
** Episcopal Church (United State ...
participants, representing the Church's religious orders, for the October 2012 13th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization
In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ.
Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...
. Salvatore was arrested in November 2013 and charged with unlawfully detaining two priests to prevent them voting against him in the election for the Superior General.[Tom Kington,]
Head of Italian religious order held in corruption inquiry
, ''The Guardian'', 7 November 2013 Fr. Leocir Pessini, was elected the new Superior General.
/ref>
Camillians celebrate November 16 as the Virgin Mary's feast day of Our Lady Health of the Sick.
Structure
The Order is divided into Ecclesiastical Province
An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction
Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...
s (the main level of geographical jurisdictions), some of which have Delegations and/or Foundations in other continents; they are distributed geographically as follows: Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
is divided into 11 Provinces (four of which are in Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
), and four Foundations; Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
into one Province, three Delegations and four Foundations; Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
into two Delegations and five Foundations; Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
into one Delegation.
Provinces
* Anglo-Irish Province
* Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n Province
* Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian Province
* Dutch Province
* French Province
* German Province
* Lombard- Venetian Province (central and eastern parts of northern Italy, the former Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n part)
* North-America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
n Province
* Piedmont
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
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ese Province (north western Italy)
* The Philippine
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
Province
** Taiwan
** Australia
* Polish Province
* Roman Province
* Sicilian-Neapolitan Province (southern Italy)
* Spanish Province
* Province of Thailand
* Indian Province
Foundations
Delegations
See also
* Maria Domenica Brun Barbantini
Maria Domenica Brun Barbantini (17 January 1789 - 22 May 1868) was an Italian Roman Catholic professed religious and the founder of the Camillian Sisters Ministers of the Sick. Barbantini served the ill throughout her entire life and she dedicate ...
, founder of Camillian Sisters
References
External links
Camillian website
{{Authority control
Catholic religious orders established in the 16th century
1582 establishments in Europe
Catholic nursing orders
Religious organizations established in the 1580s