He was the proverbial “tough guy”…pushing his weight around either verbally or physically; he was the “drop-out” driven by addiction; he was the foul-mouthed “hot shot” and magnet for bad company …and yet, by a miracle of grace, his statue is now enshrined in Saint Peter’s Basilica, and his name is enrolled among the greatest saints of God.
Saint Camillus de Lellis’ life is the story of a belligerent, self-centered youth who thought he could take on the world, but he could not break from his addictions. His story shows how the habit of sin had dragged him to the very dregs of society…and would have plunded him straight into Hell if he had not found the strength to pull himself out by grabbing hold of the crimson Pillar of Salvation. For it was the Cross, and the pitiful Figure nailed to it that finally broke through the darkness and shone its light of love and mercy into that sea of addiction and misery, drawing the soul of Camillus de Lellis to safety. It was at the foot of the Cross where he found a forgiveness so complete and a grace so powerful that it lifted him from the grasp of Satan and set him on the road to sanctity. And it was the Cross that gave him the stamina to persevere in a great, but difficult, mission until his dying day.
The story of Camillus de Lellis is proof of the hope and promise that the luminous Cross of Salvation represents. For no sin is so great that it cannot be forgiven; no addiction so strong that God cannot end it; no sinner so bad that he cannot become a saint.
The Cross stands like a brilliant lighthouse upon the shore, shining out its message of love, life, and forgiveness to all upon the dark sea of life. Even the sinner whose craft is farthest away, tossing in the storms and nearing wreck can see its light beckoning. It is there seeking to guide us to salvation…but it’s up to us to turn from the darkness and be drawn by its Light.
The De Lellis Family
When a scourge of Saracen pirates infested the coastal villages of Italy in the 9th century, the inhabitants of Buca, a village northwest of Rome, fled up the Appenines and settled a new town which they called Bucchianico. Through the following centuries, this mountain village produced a score of daring men, who repelled numerous attack and performed other valiant deeds thus they earned for their village the titles of “brave and loyal” by the king of Naples in the 15th century.
And not least among those heroic names was the family of de Lellis, who eventually spread throughout Italy furnishing history not only with a long line of soldiers but also lawyers, prelates, poets, and statesmen including noblemen Simone de Lellis who worked in three Councils for the healing of the Great Schism and Theodoro de Lellis who was made Nuncio of the Holy See and did more than anyone to rehabilitate the memory of Saint Joan of Arc and work for her canonization. But the recurring name of de Lellis was most often noted throughout history for its soldiers and warriors although not always in so saintly a fashion.
In the 16th century Giovanni de Lellis, a young soldier, established himself at Bucchianico where he fell in love with a tall, gentle noblewoman named Camilla de Compellis. He married her there in 1525 and soon after embarked on his career. Like many men of that time period, his love for his wife was divided by only one thing—his love of war. If there was pay to be won and a fight to be fought, Giovanni was there—regardless of who was paying. His checkered military record shows that from 1525, he was a fierce participant in numerous battles ranging from the sack of Rome in 1527, to the siege of Florence in 1530, to the defense of the Adriatic coast against the Turks in 1544. He returned at intervals to Camilla at Buccianico.
With her reckless husband far from home for months at a time, Camilla lived a retired life at Bucchianico. In the early years she had given birth to a son, Giuseppe, who had died in childhood. As the years wore on, it looked as though there would be no heir. But at the age of 60, Camilla once more became a mother. The awed townsfolk nicknamed her “Modonna Elisabetta” and eagerly awaited the coming of this miraculous child. But no one was more anxious than Camilla herself because she was troubled by a dream in which she saw that she had given birth to a son with a red cross on his breast, and he was followed by a troop of children all bearing the same sign. This “ominous cross” worried the mother because it was the sign of those condemned to the gallows. She interpreted the dream to mean that her son would be a leader of bandits that would only bring destruction upon her house. Thus she redoubled her prayers and fervor.
In imitation of the Blessed Mother, Camilla brought her son into the world in the stable of the de Lellis’ home on May 25, 1550. The child was baptized two days later and given the name Camillus.
