IN TODAY’S LIVES OF THE SAINTS AND MARTYRS, THE PATRON SAINT OF NURSES

Winchester, VA – Patron saint of nurses, Camillus de Lellis was born in Italy in 1550.  First a soldier with an aggressive temperment and a penchant for gambling, Camillus had a conversion at the age of 25 and tried to join the Capuchins but a persistent leg injury prevented his admission. He then went to Rome and entered the Hospital of Saint James, and while there, noticed the poor treatment received by the sick from their caretakers. Feeling called to start an order dedicated to expression of the faith through the care of the sick, Camillus obtained permission from his spiritual director, St. Philip Neri, and proceeded to enter seminary with the goal of receiving Holy Orders and beginning his religious order. He founded the order commonly known as the Camillians, which had a distinctive red cross on their habits. Saint Camillus de Lellis, pray for us!