The Life Of S. Camillus Of Lellis Founder Of The Clerks Regular Servants Of The Sick

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Preface

With the new year, 1851, a change will be made in the time and frequency of the publication of this Series, of which it may be well for the sake of clearness to say a few words.

When the Series was first projected, and received the sanction of superiors, it was foreseen that, from the comparatively small number of Saints' Lives in English, objections, whether of novelty or of indiscretion, were likely to be made to the volumes which should appear first in order. It therefore seemed advisable to publish as rapidly as possible, in order that one saint might, so to speak, screen another, and that objections founded on apparent singularity might be silenced by an array of parallel instances which would at least claim from non-catholic readers a more deliberate examination and maturer study. Thus, from the Feast of the Translation of St. Thomas of Canterbury (July 7) in 1847, to the present month, December,

X

PREFACE.

1850, a period of forty-two months, no less than twenty-three volumes of the Series have been published, besides a volume of Lives of the Fathers of the Oratory, and the first volume of Benedict XIV's treatise on Heroic Virtue, which are uniform and connected with the Series, though the subscribers are not engaged to take them in. These twenty-five volumes comprise the biographies of eleven canonized and six beatified Saints, and thirty-eight servants of God who enjoy the reputation of sanctity in the Church.

Many persons, however, who wish to subscribe to the entire Series, have complained that the cost of six volumes in the year is more than they can conveniently meet; and at the same time, as the reason which urged a rapid succession of volumes at the outset has now ceased to press, it has seemed well to the Editor and Publishers, to satisfy the desire which so many subscribers have expressed. Commencing, therefore, with the new year, the Lives of the Saints will appear in four quarterly volumes on the first days of March, June, September, and December respectively.

The Series of Lives of the Fathers of

PREFACE.

the Oratory has for the same reason been merged in the larger Series, and those who possess the two volumes of Oratorian biographies which have thus appeared, can make their set complete by purchasing the Life of the Blessed Sebastian Valfre, which is uniform with the others, and at the same price of four shillings.

It may also be well to state, that all the Lives are sold separately, and that it is not necessary to subscribe to the entire Series, as each Life is complete in itself; though it may occasionally happen that some shorter memoirs are appended to the concluding volume of a longer Life.

The separate volumes of the Series will also be found to have five different dedications — to the Secular Clergy, the Regular Clergy, Lay-brothers of Orders and Congregations, Nuns, and Laymen. Thus as time goes on the Series would be found to divide itself into five divisions, each of which would be complete as a Series in itself: thus for instance, a convent might wish only to have the Lives of Nuns for refectory reading, or a seminary the Lives of the Secular Clergy, or a lay-brother's recreation room the Lives of Lay-brothers, xii

PREFACE.

and need only therefore purchase the volumes to which those dedications are respectively affixed.

It is thus open to purchasers, either, 1st, to have the entire Series; or, 2ndly, some particular class of Lives ; or, 3rdly, the separate Lives of one or more favourite and patron Saints.

It is hoped that this arrangement of the Series, as well as the quarterly issue of the volumes, may meet the views of the various subscribers and purchasers; and it will not seem forward now, after the experience of three years and a half, to pray that the blessing of God, our dear Lady, and St. Philip, may continue to rest, as it has done hitherto, on this little effort to further the cause of Christian perfection and the sole interests of Divine Love.

F. W. F.

The Oratory, London, Dec, 10, 1850.

P. S. The following Life of St. Camillus of Lellis, is a translation from the Italian of Fathers Sanzio Cicatelli and Pantaleone Dolera, priests of his order-

PREFACE.

xiii

The edition that has been used is the one published in Rome by Marini and Co. in 1837, in which some slight additions had been made to the original Life. The second and concluding volume will be published on the 1st of March, 1851.

Contents

THE LIFE OF ST. CAMILLUS OF LELLIS. BOOK I.

CHAPTER PAGE

I. The family, the birth, country, and parentage of

Book II. Chapter

PAGE

I. The need that the world had of our order - - 110

II. Camillus obtains from Pope Clement VIII, a

confirmation of his order, and also some pecu-

III. Camillus foresees that God will assist the order.

Death of Cardinal Mondovi - - - - 127

IV. Camillus goes to found a house in Milan and in

Genoa. He threatens the vengeance of God upon some dissolute sailors. The accomplishment of his denunciations - - - -130 V. The Pope sends some of our religious into Hungary. He gives the care of the sick of the Borgo to Camillus. A house founded in Bologna 133

VI. Pestilence in Piedmont. Readiness of Camillus

and his religious to go there. Houses founded in Florence, Ferrara, Messina, and Palermo - 138

VII. Pestilence in Nola, and death of five of our

priests, who were sent to assist the sick there 140 VIII. Faculties given to Camillus by the bishop of

IX, Another bull in favour of the order. A house founded at Mantua. Some of our religious

sent to Canizza 146

X. Dangers of Camillus in two storms at sea. Five more houses founded - - - - -151 XI. Camillus is many times providentially assisted

in his extreme want 156

XII. Camillus resigns the office of general - - 160

XIII. Exercises of Camillus after his resignation - 163

XIV. Method of life observed by S. Camillus during

his stay in the hospital of S. Spirito - - 169 XV. Five graces bestowed by our Lord on Camillus 176

XVI. Camillus in Bocchianico assists the poor during

a famine. Miracles wrought in favour of his charity 180

XVII. Camillus foretells his approaching end. He

writes a letter to his nephew Alexander, which is mysteriously presented to him the same day 186 XVIII. Camillus returns to Rome. His last illness - 190 XIX, Camillus receives the Viaticum and Extreme niary assistance

Unction xviii CONTENTS,

CHAPTER PAGE

XX. Camillus, after receiving the Pope's blessing,

passes happily to the Lord - 204 XXI. The body of the saint visited by crowds of

people. His burial 213

XXII. Apparitions of S. Camillus after his death - - 217

Book III

I. The eminent faith of S. Camillus - - - 220 II. The great hope that Camillus had of being saved

by the merits and blood of Jesus Christ - 230

III. Camillus's ardent charity towards God, and to-

wards the souls of his neighbours - - - 239

IV. The charity of Camillus to the sick in the

hospitals 246

Y. Camillus has a miraculous knowledge of dying

people, who are yet in a state of mortal sin - 267 VI. Camillus's charity to the dying in private houses 275

VII. The pleasure that our ministry and assistance of

the dying gives the angels, and the rage that it puts the devils in 286

VIII. Camillus wished that his religious should be

called in good time to the assistance of the dying. Examples to prove the importance of this 293

IX. Further examples of the same subject - - 301 X. Charity of Camillus to all the poor, beggars, prisoners, orphans, widows, and children. His compassion towards the very animals - - 309

XL Camillus's love for holy poverty, and for the virtue of justice 317

XII. Camillus's wonderful zeal to preserve his chastity

inviolate 325

XIII. Of Camillus's love for holy obedience, and of

his observance of all the rules of the community 337

XIV. The humility of S. Camillus, and his spirit of

mortification and penance - - - - 347 XV. Camillus's patience in misfortunes, and his modesty in travelling. Some wonderful succours which God gave him in different dangers - 361

XVI. Other dangers from which Camillus was delivered by God 367

XVII. Camillus's continual prayer. His devotion to the

Blessed Virgin and the saints - - - 372

THE LIFE

OF

FOUNDER OF THE CONGREGATION OP THE CLERKS REGULAR,

THE FAMILY, THE BIRTH, COUNTRY, AND PARENTAGE

The family of Lellis was, according to the authors of great credit, from the time of the ancient Roman republic, one of the most conspicuous of those which Totila drove away from Rome into the kingdom of Naples; and from the register of that kingdom it appears to have been certainly one of the most illustrious families in the province of Abruzzo, not only for its antiquity, (honourable mention of it being made as early as the time of the Emperor Frederic IL) but also for its extent, (branches of it existing, not only in Chieti the capital town, but also in Feramo, a most ancient city of the same province, and in Naples itself,) as well as for the various celebrated persons whom it produced:

MINISTERS OP THE SICK.

Chapter I. Op Camillus

ST. CAMILLUS OF LELLIS.

snch as, Onofrio, Baron of S. Giovanni, a great poet; Donato, Gasparo, Lelio, some of the first advocates in the royal tribunals ; Carlo, known to the learned by his many publications, which show him to have been a man of varied and vast erudition ; and, to omit many others, Simeone, who signalized himself in the councils of Constance and of Pisa ; Theodoro, who was consistorial advocate, and legate of the Apostolic See ; and Gasparo, auditor of the Roman Rota. Then, as soldiers, the same family can with pride enumerate Lelio de Lellis, whose ancestors accommodated King Charles I. of Anjou with the loan of vast sums of money, by means of which he won the kingdom of Naples from the armies of Manfredi ; and Corradino, who was sent by King Ladislaus as ambassador to Rome. His son Giovanni, in recompense for his fidelity and courage, was invested by King Charles II. with the fiefs of Lascullo, Rubbiano, Pesciotto, and Scarlano, all in the province of Abruzzo. Giacomo de Lellis, who, by his bravery, of which he gave proof in many expeditions, came to be an intimate friend of King Robert ; and another Lelio, who fought with equal valour and fortune under the flag of King Ferdinand ; and Onofrio his son, who, like his father, held many honourable posts, and laboured with the greatest intrepidity to drive out the French from the kingdom of Naples, and bring it again under the dominion of the Catholic king. This Onofrio was the father of Giovanni, and Giovanni, of Saint Camillus of Lellis, the first father and founder of

ST. CAMILLUS OP LELLIS.

the order of the Clerks Regular, ministers of the sick, whose Life I am now writing. Giovanni then, treading in the footsteps of his ancestors, followed the profession of a soldier, and in the rank of captain, under the Emperor Charles V., was engaged in almost all the enterprises which were undertaken in Italy in his time. In 1527, the first year of his soldier's life, he served, in company with Fabrizio Marramaldo, in the imperial army, under the command of the Duke of Bourbon, at the unhappy sack of Rome, and imprisonment of Clement VII. , the then Pope. Then continuing the career he had commenced, he bravely assisted Carlo Scorpione to defend and deliver the city of Naples, which was assaulted by the French, under the command of M. de Lauttrecce. Two years afterwards he went with Marramaldo to invest and subdue Florence. Then he went with D. Piero d* Ajerba to fight in Piedmont, where the cities of Chieri, Cherasco, and Alba were taken ; Pinarolo was besieged, and a battle was fought at Ceresola. Besides this, when the armament of the Turks had devasted Vieste in Capitanata, the government of the city was entrusted to him by Vincenzo di Capua, Duke of Termoli, with the rank of captain, and command of five hundred soldiers. Lastly, in the misunderstandings which arose between Pope Paul IV., and Philip II., king of Spain, he was employed as captain of infantry, with Ferrante di LofFredo, in the defence of Civitella del Tronto ; in the taking of Ostia, and in every other event in that war. Who will not, therefore, admire the won-

ST. CAMILLUS OF LELLIS.

derful designs of the Lord God, whose wisdom and goodness, which can raise up even from the hard stones the elect children of Abraham, was pleased to bestow on a worldly soldier the gift of a son who was so dear to Him, that He chose him to found a new order in that very Rome, for the ruin of which Giovanni had fought ; so that the losses occasioned to it by the father, were repaired with interest by the son. Giovanni married in Milan, Camilla Compellio of Laureto, in Abruzzo, a noble young lady, related to the principal families there ; the match was made by the intervention of a brother of the lady, then Majordomo of the Marquis of Vasto. Thence he went to Bocchianico, likewise in Abruzzo, his native place, and brought home with him his wife. God blessed his marriage with two sons, Giuseppe, who died a child, and Camillus, who, from being born many years afterwards, when his mother was nearly sixty, with grey hair and wrinkled face, procured for her from her wondering neighbours the glorious surname of S. Elizabeth. And well might they call her so, not only for her advanced age, but for the various circumstances that attended the birth of the child. It happened on the 25th of May, in the holy year 1550, on the day dedicated to S. Urban, Pope and Martyr, titular saint of the principal church, and protector of the palace ; for that reason all the people were keeping holiday ; there were processions with banners, and triumphal chariots, and other signs of extraordinary joy ; so that it seemed to be

ST. CAMILLUS OF LELLIS.

God's intention to foreshow the joy that Camillus would bring to his country and his people, in the same way as He had done at the birth of the Baptist. We must also relate, that the mother, who had gone that day to hear mass, and to recommend herself to God by the intercession of the saint, with her usual fervent prayers, felt on a sudden the child move within her, like another Baptist, at the presence of her Lord in the blessed Sacrament ; this brought on the pains of labour, and compelled her to return to her house. There another thing no less remarkable took place, which was, that though her pains had reached a point beyond endurance, she could find no relief, nor could she give birth to the child on the place prepared for her ; but almost beside herself, she rushed impetuously to the stable, and throwing herself down on the hay, she there immediately brought forth with the greatest ease : so that we may say, that Camillus would not consent to be born in a palace, or on a bed more luxurious than that in which his Lord willed to be born. Two days afterwards he was baptized in the church of S. Michele, by Francesco Corrado the archpriest, and was held at the sacred font by Gentile, Baron of Torricella, and Simona d' Ugni his wife. Not to omit anything relating to the birth of Camillus, so distinguished by Providence, we must here relate, that his mother, a few days before he saw the light, dreamed that she had given birth to a son with a cross on his breast, who was followed by several children all decorated in the same c

ST. CAMILLUS OF LELLIS.

way. Now, as human weakness is more ready to fear evil than to hope for good, it is easy to imagine how agitated the good lady was at this dream. Those crosses seemed to her the dreary omens of some great disaster to her house and family ; and she feared that the burthen she carried was to become no less than a captain of banditti, against whom men should have to arm themselves to inflict a just punishment on his crimes. In the progress of this history it will be discovered in what a different way that dream was verified ; and how her fear would have given place to consolation could she have lived to see her son with many religious followers of his holy example, and full of his fervent zeal, all armed with the venerable sign of the cross, robbing the devil of multitudes of souls, and this chiefly at the time of their agony, when he always uses all his strength to assault them with greater fury.

EARLY YEARS OF CAMILLUS. A WOUND COMES IN HIS RIGHT LEG. HE MAKES A VOW TO BECOME A FRANCISCAN.

Early in his boyhood, according to the custom of gentlemen, Camillus was sent to school, but he was soon carried away by the inclination which he had inherited with his blood, and by his

Chapter II

ST. CAMILLUS OF LELLIS.

warlike disposition ; and he had scarcely learned to read and write, before he gave himself up to gambling with cards and dice, and all those amusements which the young men of the world follow with such avidity ; and as he was an elegant reciter of pastoral colloquies, he took much pleasure in this vain exercise. At the age of nineteen, (in the third or fourth year of the pontificate of S. Pius V.) he with his two cousins and his father, resolved to follow the example of his ancestors, and to employ themselves in arms. With this intention they travelled together towards Ancona, to embark there and sail to offer their services to the nobles of Venice against the Turks. The intentions of Providence, were, however, quite different, for Camillus and his father became seriously ill in that city ; and judging that the new illness had not left them strength sufficient to bear the inconveniences inseparable from war, they resolved to return to Abruzzo. But they had scarcely arrived at S. Lupidio, a castle a little way from the most holy house of Loreto, when the illness of the father increased, so that he was obliged to take refuge in the house of a captain, a friend of theirs, where in a few days he died, fortified by the sacraments, and repentant for his sin3, and was buried in the church of S. Francesco. No words can express the grief of Camillus at this unexpected death, and to add to his affliction, he had lost his mother six years previously, who had gone to her rest with every sign of eternal salvation. His grief was embittered by a fresh

ST. CAMILLUS OF LELLIS.

misfortune, which he considered the worst of all. A slight scratch which he had received on his right leg, just above his ankle, brought on a festering wound. I purposely mention this wound, because it was the principal means which Providence used to heal his soul, bj giving him an acquaintance with the hospital, from which, we may say, that our congregation arose, as we shall show in the proper place. In this condition then, after mourning over and performing the last duties to his father, he continued his journey towards home, in spite of the ravages of a slow fever, of which he felt a fresh attack every day. He was on this account obliged to rest for awhile at Fermo, where God in His goodness caused him to see accidentally two reformed Franciscan fathers, who were walking through the city with down-cast eyes and a most devout mien. Moved by this good example, he felt sorrow for his dissolute life, and proposed to amend it ; and he went so far as to make a vow to consecrate himself to God in that severe and holy order. He was so enthusiastic in this desire, that, without any delay, he went to Aquila, to the convent of S. Bernardino, where Fra. Paola Lauretano, his uncle, was guardian, a person famous for the goodness of his life, and for his extensive knowledge; qualities that had raised him to the rank of commissarygeneral of the order in all the Spanish dominions. To him then Camillus told his wish, and humbly besought him to receive him among his religious, and at last declared to him his vow. But his prudent uncle, seeing him so weak in health, and

ST. CAMILLUS OF LELLIS.

being able to argue most shrewdly from the tenor of his life that his vocation was not real, refused to clothe him ; and Camillus, cooled by this repulse, thought no more at that time about fulfilling his design.

CAMILLUS GOES TO ROME. HE SERVES IN THE HOSPI- TAL OF S. GIACOMO. HE BECOMES A SOLDIER, AND GOES THROUGH MANY DANGERS.

Camillus stayed some time at Aquila, and then the shame of a soldier going about with a bandaged leg drove him to Rome, where he expected that he should be well taken care of, and his wound soon cured. He had scarcely arrived in the holy city, when hearing that there were skilful surgeons at the hospital of S. Giacomo, he placed himself there as servant, and remained there many months. He was not yet perfectly cured, when he was dismissed by Angelo Napolitano, the superintendant of the hospital, because of his violent temper, his always picking quarrels with the other servants, and his unbridled passion for gambling, making him abandon the sick, and care nothing for their sufferings. He had admonished him more than once, but not seeing any improvement in him, and at last finding a pack of cards under his pillow, he could not put up with him any longer. Being thus dismissed before his wound was wholly cured, in the

Chapter III

ST. CAMILLUS OP LELLIS.

year 1569, he went to serve the Venetian republic, against which Selina the Grand Signor of the Turks had declared war, with the idea of conquering Cyprus. He held various offices, both naval and military, under this government, and went through many dangers, both on sea and on land. In 1571 in Corfu he was near dying of a very violent fever and dysentery, and he was cured, as he often affirmed, by the power of the sacraments ; for after confessing and communicating he immediately regained his health, in a way that he believed miraculous. Miraculous indeed may it be considered, if we bear in mind the violence of the fever and his forlorn circumstances, for he was obliged to lie in the open air in a cradle of straw, so narrow that it would hardly hold him. For this reason he was not present in the fleet of the Holy League, when, on the 7th of October, under the command of Don John of Austria, the Christian arms obtained that famous victory of Lepanto at Curzolari. He was present, nevertheless, the next year in the second expedition ; but no engagement took place, and the league was broken up ; still he continued to serve under the command of Giacomo Soranzo, who sailed with thirty galleys to take the fortress of Varbegno in Dalmatia, that had been built by the Turks to blockade the city of Cattaro. During this voyage Camillus went through a fresh danger, for while the fleet was passing at night near Castel Nuovo, a most strongly fortified place of the Turks, many shots of a culverin were fired against them, some of which were near hitting the galley in which he was.

The fortress was then stormed bj Soranzo from the sea, and by Prospero Colonna and Paolo Orsini from land, and was at last carried and taken, not without great loss to the faithful. In that siege Camillus observed that many of the Italian soldiers, partly through rage and partly through hunger, cut out the livers from the bodies of the Turks whom they had slain, which they fried and devoured as great delicacies : but he, abhorring such cruelty, never consented even to taste them, content to feed on raw herbs and horse-flesh. Another danger happened to him at Zara, where, because of a gambling quarrel, he challenged a soldier named Vangelista of Rocca di Papa ; but as it pleased God, at the very beginning of the affray, the sergeantmajor commanded them to proceed no further. The war between the Venetians and Turks was scarcely over, before Camillus, impatient of repose, sought for fresh wars in the pay of Spain, and everywhere found new dangers. Sailing in the Neapolitan galleys, when they were in the midst of the Gulf of Capri, the galley in which he was caught the wind on its beam ends, and was near being upset, and unless the mast had been cut down and thrown over board with the sail and yard-arm, the wreck would have been complete. In 1574 he enlisted in the company of a certain Fabio, famous for its gamblings, which was his great inducement to join it. Their first expedition was to defend Tunis ; then they went to Goletta, which was threatened by Sinam Bassd; and well was it for him and the rest that their assistance was refused by the officials in charge of it, through obstinacy and bravado ; else, when the Turks after a few days made themselves masters of Goletta and of Tunis, Camillus would have perished in the general massacre. During his last voyage from Palermo to Naples, such a dreadful storm arose that the vessels were obliged to run for three whole days and nights as the wind drove them, so that all the passengers gave themselves up as lost, and Camillus, no less frightened than his companions, renewed his vow of taking the habit of S. Francis. This was on the 28th of October, the day consecrated to the memory of the glorious Apostles, Simon and Jude. From what has been said, one can easily see that the Lord God in preserving Camillus with such peculiar care in his many and great dangers, destined him to perform great things for His glory and for the salvation of souls.

CAMILLUS HAVING LOST EVERYTHING BY GAMBLING, IS REDUCED TO BEG, AND TO LABOUR AT A BUILDING BELONGING TO TnE CAPUCHIN FATHERS.

The galleys escaped this dreadful storm, and arrived at Naples, but in such a condition, that they could not be used any more ; their crews were therefore discharged, and Camillus was free from military service. But he was brought so

Chapter IV

ST. CAMILLUS OF LELLIS.

low by the privation of war, and so impoverished by his gaming losses at Palermo, that he had hardly clothes to his back. And yet, more obstinate than ever in his unconquerable passion, instead of amending, he staked everything he had left, his sword, his gun, his powder flasks, and a cloak, forgetting that once before he had in the same city of Naples lost even his shirt, which he had been forced publicly to strip himself of in the street of S. Bartholomew, to his great shame. Finding himself a poor man and a beggar, he determined to seek his fortune in travelling, and in company with Tiberio Sanese, a soldier like himself, he set out on the road to Puglia on his way to Manfredonia, not without some thoughts of passing into Slavonia, in the Venetian dominions, or of going into Africa, if another war should break out there. He did not remain at either of these places, for, when he got to Manfredonia, he was compelled by necessity to beg, hat in hand, before the door of the great church, in the usual way of soldiers reduced to misery. This took place precisely on the day of S. Andrew the apostle, in the year 1574. While he was standing in this abject way, his face burning with unspeakable shame, the Signor Antonio di Nicastro, a man of noble birth, and still more noble by his charity to the Capuchin Fathers, whom he served as procurator-general for their new buildings, happened to pass that way, and told him that if he would labour at these buildings, he should not be left without due support. Camillus answered that the consent of a companion of his

ST. CAMILLUS OF LELLIS.

was necessary: the Signor Antonio told him to go at once and speak to him, and showed him his house at a little distance from the new buildings, where he would wait to hear of his resolution. Camillus spoke to his companion, and finding him utterly averse to the idea, without speaking a word to his kind benefactor, he left Manfredonia, and set off towards Barletta. As he went out of the city, his vow of becoming a religious returned into his mind with a strong internal impulse of grace, and he said within himself, " Who knows whether God did not put before me this building of the Capuchins, in order that I might fulfil my promise?" Still, not wishing to desert his friend, he continued his journey, and walked twelve miles that day. They asked as they went some carriers of the place, whether there was any employment to be had in Barletta, and receiving in answer a most decisive negative, Camillus was much disturbed, and under the influence of God's grace, resolved to return to Manfredonia, and to work at the building which he had before refused. He talked to his companion about it, but he would not join him on any condition ; so, overcoming all human respect, and all attachment to his friend, he at length took leave of him. On his return he felt so strongly the impulse of grace, that Camillus himself declared that he ran over those twelve miles with the speed of a hare, so that he arrived in Manfredonia some hours before day. He immediately sought for Signor Antonio, who took him to F. Francesco Modica, guardian of the Capuchins, and