An account of the life of Saint Maria Goretti, a true Testimony of Pardon


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San Camillo de Lellis

“San Camillo and San Pio – united in love for the sick”

The first similarities between San Camillo de Lellis and San Pio of Pietrelcina begin on the date of their birth, 25th of May, – the year 1550 in the case of San Camillo and that of 1887 for San Pio. The two men of God, would become heroic witnesses of the Lord’s Charity and Passion: Padre Pio visibly carrying the stigmata of the Crucified Christ, San Camillo carrying heavy infirmities on five parts of his body which he himself called the “five mercies of the Lord”. To sum up, both were united with Christ, understood what suffering truly was and had a deep concern for the care of the sick.

San Camillo de Lellis
Having lost his mother at a young age, De Lellis joined his father in the Venetian army and after military service his regiment was disbanded. Having gambled all his possessions, De Lellis took up working as a labourer for the Capuchin community in the coastal town of Manfredonia. Despite his aggressive nature and excessive gambling, the guardian of the friary however could see something in him and never lost faith.
All would change for De Lellis in February 1575 during an errand to the remote Capuchin friary of San Giovanni Rotondo where he would spend the night. On his return journey his conversion would take place, in the so-called “Valley of Hell”, the road which connects San Giovanni Rotondo with Manfredonia. His intention of entering the Capuchin order however would never be realised due to a wound he had received during his military duties, with physicians declaring him unfit to enter.

De Lellis decided to travel to the hospital of San Giacomo in Rome during which time he cared for the sick and lived an ascetic life of prayer, fasting, and manual labour. He took as his spiritual director and confessor a local priest, Philip Neri, who himself would be later declared a saint. During his time in the hospital of San Giacomo he observed with great sadness the lack of attention given to the sick and consequently invited a group of pious men to express their faith through care of the patients. De Lellis went on to establish a religious community, approved by Philip Neri. He undertook seminary studies and was ordained a priest in 1584.

Thus, De Lellis established the Order of Clerks Regular, Ministers of the Infirm which today is better known as the Camillians with the large Red Cross on their cassock being a symbol of the Congregation today.
During the Battle of Canizza which took place in 1601, the tent in which the Camillians were attending to the wounded was completely destroyed and burned to the ground, with the exception of the red cross of a religious habit belonging to one of the Camillians. This event was taken by the Camillians to manifest Divine approval of the Red Cross of St. Camillus.

Camillus became known as the “Saint of Rome” when, during the Bubonic plague, his efforts were credited with ridding the city of the plague and subsequent famine.
In 1586 Pope Sixtus V gave the group formal recognition as a Congregation which five years later was raised to the status of an Order - the equivalent of the mendicant orders.
Despite his own ailments, Camillus never allowed it to prevent him caring for the sick and he is said he had gifts of healing and prophecy. The Order expanded and by his death in 1614 it had spread throughout Italy and as far as Hungary. De Lellis was beatified by Pope Benedict XIV in 1742 and canonised four years later.

So, aside from the date of their birth and their views on the care of the sick, what else do San Camillo de Lellis and San Pio of Pietrelcina have in common?

Both occupied Cell No 5 in the Capuchin friary in San Giovanni Rotondo!

It was in this same cell that on the 9th of January 1940, the seed of the “Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza” was planted - the idea of Padre Pio to establish a temple where prayer and science would unite in order to relieve the suffering of the sick. Both men

understand well what suffering was and the importance of attending to the sick both on a medical and spiritual level.
Up to his death, Padre Pio would joke - “San Camillo lived there (Cell No 5) for one night and became a saint, and I, who lived there for thirty years, am still a poor friar”!

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