Camillus de Lellis (1550–1614) was an Italian soldier and gambler whose conversion led him to devote his life to caring for the sick, and he founded the Ministers of the Sick (the Camillians), whose members vow to serve the sick even at risk of their own lives. Though he suffered a painful, incurable leg wound for most of his life, he personally nursed patients in Rome's hospitals with extraordinary tenderness. He is a patron saint of the sick, nurses, and hospitals.
Camillus shows that a wounded life can become a source of healing for others: he turned his own suffering into compassion, treating each sick person as Christ himself. His example invites us to stay close to those who are ill or grieving — patiently, gently, and without counting the cost.
Saint Camillus de Lellis, friend of the sick and the suffering, teach us to love with your tenderness and to trust that no pain is wasted in God's hands. Amen.