In 1550, a boy was born into a noble family who would eventually change health care and inspire others to care for the sick and the weak, becoming the founder of the first Red Cross and an order of priests who served the sick.
He is now the patron saint of nurses, nurse associations, the sick, hospitals and health-care workers.
He didn’t start out practicing the saintly behavior that would eventually get him canonized. In fact, many Catholic sources refer to him as a bit of a ruffian.
Early Life
Camillus de Lellis was born in Bucchianico, Italy. His mother died when he was a child and his father had little interest in him.
He became quite fond of drinking, gambling and quarreling. At age 17, he contracted a leg disease that plagued him for the rest of his life.
He entered the San Giacomo Hospital for Incurables in Rome as a patient and servant, but got thrown out after nine months because of his rowdy behavior.
He tried the Venetian army for three years but in the winter of 1574, he gambled away everything — his weapons, all his clothes except his shirt and all his money.
He started working at a Capuchin friary and had a religious conversion experience. He tried to become a novitiate, but was disallowed because of the incurable sore on his leg.
Health Care Work
He returned to San Giacomo where he devoted the rest of his life to caring for the sick. He studied for the priesthood and was ordained when he was 34.
In 1585, he founded an order called “Fathers of a Good Death,” who became known as the Camillians.
During his life, he promoted cleanliness in hospitals, something not common at the time, and insisted on those who served the sick being trained. Those who became Camillians had to commit to serving prisoners and people who were infected by the plague.
The Camillians formed the first recorded military field ambulance when they joined troops fighting in Hungary and Croatia in 1595. They would wear a red cross on their cassocks, which is still a symbol of their order.
Going Where Needed
In Naples, they would go out to boats that were barred from landing because people on them had the plague. Two members of his order were martyred when they contracted the disease.
When he learned that people were being buried alive, he ordered the brothers of his order to continue the prayers for the dying for 15 minutes after apparent death.
While he had a building in which he taught members of his order how to provide health care and worked in hospitals, he and his order were known for going wherever a sick person was, even at risk to their own lives.
Death and Legacy
De Lellis continued to be sick throughout his life, not only with his leg infirmity but with several other diseases. It was said that he would sometimes crawl out of his bed to visit the sick.
He died in Rome in 1614.
He was canonized in 1746 and in 1930 he was named co-patron of nurses and nurse associations along with St. John of God.
His legacy lives on through the work of the Camillian order and several other organizations that sprung from it and his work. Thousands of health-care workers continue to follow in his footsteps, caring for the sick and the vulnerable.