INVOCATION TO THE HOLY SPIRIT FOR THE NEXT GENERAL CHAPTER
O Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, we invoke you to descend into the depths of hearts. Enlighten our minds and keep your fire burning in our hearts!
You enlightened St. Camillus to found a Company of pious and dedicated men who, not for personal interests, but freely and for the love of the Lord, would serve the sick with the love of a mother caring for her sick child.
It is you, O Holy Spirit of God, who inspires our Order to always look at the past with gratitude in order not to lose our roots and the vigilant discerners of Your passage in our history.
It is You, who invites us to live the present with passion, burning with the same flame of love that led St. Camillus to serve the suffering with charity, overcoming the shadows that obscure us to know well the time in which we are living, recognizing in it a time of special Grace.
Finally, You commend us, to embrace the future with hope, with great certainty that you will always be with us, O Spirit of God, guiding our steps, encouraging us to fraternal life and dialogue among the Provinces.
O Holy Spirit, sweet consoler of the soul, descend again in us! Pour out all goods and the will to work on it and through the intercession of St. Camillus, the lover of the red cross of love and in the image of the Good Samaritan, make us laborers in the vineyard, the Church.
To Mary, our Mother of Health of the Sick, we trust in our willingness to do the Will of the Father, so that the charism may be preserved and shared, and that love may spread and do good works. Amen!
Highlights Pope Francis’ message for Lent 2020
“We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:20)
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This year the Lord grants us, once again, a favourable time to prepare to celebrate with renewed hearts the great mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus, the cornerstone of our personal and communal Christian life. We must continually return to this mystery in mind and heart, for it will continue to grow within us in the measure that we are open to its spiritual power and respond with freedom and generosity. READ MORE
HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT
These pictures come from Mariella who works with Salute e Sviluppo and who from 31 January to 17 February of this year visited the mission of the Camillian Fathers of Bossemptélé in the Central African Republic. In this village the Camillian community runs the St. John Paul II Hospital, providing health care to the parts of the population that are most in need. This monitoring visit was a continuation of the commitment of ‘Health and Development’ to supporting this hospital.
To know more see HERE
THE PROVINCE OF BRAZIL
The perpetual profession of our confreres Edson da Silva Pires and Gabriel Anderson Barbosa of the Province of Brazil took place on 15 February 2020.
On 1 February 2020, the novice Genildo Guarino took his first religious vows in the Order of the Ministers of the Sick. In the same celebration, the religious with temporary vows of the Camillian Province of Brazil renewed their consecration.
THE PROVINCE OF BURKINA FASO
On 2 February the celebrations began for the fiftieth anniversary of the birth of the ‘Juvénat St Camille’ Camillian Seminary. Many activities and projects animated the community during these days of celebration.
The activities ended on Saturday 15 February 2020 with a solemn celebration. The Holy Mass was presided over by Prosper Kontiebo, the Bishop of Tenkodogo, together with Msgr. Joseph SAMA, the Bishop of Nouna; Msgr. Modeste KAMBOU, the Bishop of Gaoua; and Msgr. Théophile NARE, the Bishop of Kaya.
The Holy Mass witnessed the presence of numerous concelebrating priests, men and women religious, major Superiors and delegates of institutions.
Two representatives of the Camillian religious family were present: Father Laurent ZOUNGRANA, the Vicar General of the Order, and Father Gaétan KABORE, the Provincial Superior of the Province of Burkina Faso CLICK HERE
The Emeritus Bishop of Pinerolo (Italy), Msgr. Piergiorgio Debernardi, accompanied by Rocco Nastasi, the present President of Caritas, visited the mission of the Camillian Fathers in the village of Nanoro in Burkina Faso where Dr. Giusello Spidalieri is a volunteer doctor. In the photograph together with the volunteers and local missionaries are Msgr. Debernardi, Dr. Spidalieri, Rocco Nastasi and, from Pinerolo, Silvia Palmero, the coordinator of the nurses at the old people’s home of Pinerolo.
THE PROVINCE OF THE PHILIPPINES
On Sunday 2 February, in the Parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in Bohol, the Philippines, our confrere Fr. MARCELINO DIGAL was ordained a priest.
We send our very best wishes to him for an apostolate rich in mercy and tenderness towards the sick and the world of health, following the example set by St. Camillus.
BROTHER PIETRO VECOLI – THE LITTLE CAMILLIAN WITH THE HEART OF A FATHER
ACI STAMPA – He was a man with a smile and a hidden life. Enveloped in his religious habit, the single red cross on his cassock made people understand that he was a Camillian. This was Brother Pietro Vecoli, an authentic apostle of the Redemption in the world of health care. READ MORE
THE DELEGATION IN VIETNAM
Ho Chi Minh City, 23/02/2020
“Be an image of Jesus Christ for the sick, both physically and spiritually, according to the authentic logic of the Kingdom of God”.
This was the message of Bishop Louis Nguyen Anh Tuan, the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh City, during the Holy Mass for the ordination as deacons of three Camillian confreres celebrated on Sunday 7 February 2020 at 7.00 in the chapel of the Pastoral Centre of the Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh City. CLICK HERE
THE DELEGATION IN TAIWAN
On 1 February 2020 our confrere Fr. Marcelino Digal was ordained a priest in the Camillian Province of the Philippines.
On Monday 3 February, Fr. Marcelino, after returning from the Philippines, celebrated Holy Mass at the St. Camillus Sanctuary for those in the centre and for the elderly.
On 2-11 February at the St. Camillus Sanctuary the World Day of the Sick was celebrated. Many faithful took part in the celebration of the Holy Mass, drawing near to the sacrament of the anointing of the sick.
THE PROVINCE OF BENIN TOGO
On the second anniversary of the death (on 7 February 2020) of Mrs. Candida Pisù, a Camillian voluntary worker, Father Médard Aboué, paid tribute to this great lay missionary woman who for over thirty years dedicated herself totally to giving schooling to children in Benin, providing them with suitable care and implementing very many development projects for the local people.. READ MORE
THE PROVINCE OF ROME
Download here the programme of the celebrations for Lent organised by our confreres of the St. John Hospital Chaplaincy of Rome.
THE PARISH OF ST. CAMILLUS
‘Via Crucis with Jesus on the way of Calvary and listening to the cry of the city’ from 28 February onwards every Friday at the Parish of St. Camillus de Lellis of Rome. DOWNLOAD THE PROGRAMME HERE.
BUCCHIANICO
On 17 February the educational programme ‘Let us Discover together the Sanctuary and the Legacy of St. Camillus’ for pupils of first level secondary schools began again.
The aim of the project – we would like to remind you – is to inform the young generations about St. Camillus, his spiritual legacy, his insights and innovations and how these are of as much contemporary relevance as they have ever been.
The first classes to take part were the classes ‘A’ and ‘B’ of the first level secondary school named after G. Mezzanotte in Chieti.
This year, as well, the project was carried out in cooperation with Pro Loco Bucchianico.
THE DELEGATION IN INDONESIA
Agenzia Fides – ‘For us Camillians the event of the World Day of the Sick is an occasion to place again at the centre of attention the commitment to service to the most frail lives, where sick people bear witness to their journey of suffering’. This is what Agenzia Fides was told by Father Gianfranco Lunardon, the Secretary General of the Order of the Ministers of the Sick (Camillians), when speaking about the World Day which is celebrated every year on 11 February, the liturgical memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lourdes. READ MORE
THE PROVINCE OF SICILY AND NAPLES
On 16 February the Camillian parish mission in Mondragone, in the parish of San Rufino of the diocese of Sessa Aurunca, began its work. Fifteen missionaries, religious, Camillians and women Ministers of the Sick of St. Camillus took part in this mission.
This involved a via Crucis in the homes of sick people animated by the Lay Camillian Family of Acireale and by young Camillians receiving formation.
Acireale 2 March 2020
“What I am living does not come from me, it is stronger than me. God came to lift me out of a ditch”. Thus begins Grégoire Ahongbonon in the incipit of his testimony of 11 February given at the St. Camillus Welcome Centre of Acireale. CONTINUE HERE
THE XVIII WORLD DAY OF THE SICK
Agenzia Fides – Interview with Fr. Gianfranco Lunardon, the Secretary General of the Order of Camillians (#Camilliani)
Specifically in what we call lands of mission, the work of the Church helps to bring hope to those who live in conditions of hopelessness and suffering: “all of our Christian communities’, observed Fr. Lunardon, “arose thanks to the work of missionaries and volunteers animated by the evangelical spirit”.
CADIS (Camillian Disaster Service International)
SCARICA QUI IL NUOVO NUMERO DI CROSSOVER N. 18 gennaio-marzo 2020 
CADIS: Corona Care
Dear Friends,
Greetings in these troubled times of Corona Virus.
With the death toll now reaching over 3000, confirmed cases over 95.000, and keeps increasing each hour, it is declared a global emergency by WHO.
Everyone is in panic mode. Various countries are under high stress—people struggling for correct answers and solutions.
In this context, there is a need to respond. ANY RESPONSE IS BETTER THAN NO RESPONSE!
Therefore, we joined CORONA CARE a call center facility for anyone who wants to talk about the coronavirus over phone or internet. It may be infected people looking for comfort and support. It may be people with fear and suspicion about their condition or someone known to them. People need various kinds of information – medical information, travel information, policy information, and so on.
This platform has ample credible information possible from every side. Importantly we will create a facility for people to call and talk. It may be a counseling session that people need. We can also have them available in different languages. See https://coronacare.life/ READ MORE
CONTINUING THE VISION OF SAINT CAMILLUS AND THE LEGACY OF THE CAMILLIAN MARTYRS OF CHARITY
“Everyone, therefore, who would like to join our Institute, should know, that he must die to himself, if he is given such a great grace by the Holy Spirit and should not worry about death nor life, neither infirmity nor health, but entirely dead to the world, he should give himself completely to the will of God, under perfect obedience to his superiors, giving up totally of his will. He should consider it a great gain to die for the crucified Jesus Christ our Lord, who says: “there is no greater love than to give one’s life for one’s friends…”, for the glory of God, the salvation of one’s soul and that of our neighbor.”
(Prologue, The Constitution of the Order of the Ministers of the Infirm)
CADIS is taking the prophetic call of being a Camillian in the new Millenium by storm, growing leaps and bounds on an international level seriously. CADIS is becoming bold in its global intervention of building a resilient community where people are affected or exposed to natural and human-made disasters. It is growing a lot in its mission of promoting the development of community-based integral health programs for the well-being of disaster-stricken communities through compassionate, competent and coordinated interventions. It is a leap from the top-down to the bottom-up approach of ministering to the suffering humanity.
We can dedicate this success to the diligent work of our active and passionate members – confreres, priests, religious and lay – who continue to support our mission and participate actively in the various projects and emergency interventions. CADIS engagement in the humanitarian world began with a selected group of Camillians and lay collaborators. At present, the seed that was planted has grown into a tree where its branches are bearing fruits of a significant number and diverse participation of Camillians, lay, priest and religious forming into CADIS or CTF provincial or delegation based organization and the local and international partner organizations engaged in humanitarian and development work. READ MORE
THE CHARTER OF THE CAMILLIAN SOCIOHEALTH INSTITUTIONS (CSIs)
The Order of the Ministers of the Infirm (Camillians) was founded by St. Camillus de Lellis in the 16th century to witness and exercise the mercy Christ to those who suffer from illnesses, especially to the most vulnerable. The Order which has, “as its purpose, complete service to the sick person in the totality of his being” (Const. 43), realizes this mission through a variety of services and ministries inspired by a holistic vision of the human person. Among the multiple forms of the exercise of the Camillian ministry are the Camillian Socio-health Institutions (CSIs) owned and/or managed by the Order.
THE CHURCH OF ST. MARY MAGDALENE
The restoration and prevention work – against woodworm and termites – on the valuable wooden statue of St. Mary Magdalene, and the four large busts in the apse of the major altar of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, have started.
For all these initiatives and restoration work an expression of thanks goes to Fec (The Fund for Buildings of Worship of the Interior Ministry of the Italian government) and the Special Superintendence for the Protection of the Cultural Heritage of Rome for the funding and the care shown in the work. PHOTOGALLERY
Pictures of the moving of the wooden statue kept in Rome in the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Campo Marzio, owned by the FEC. CLICK HERE
THE WOMEN MINISTERS OF THE SICK
Sr. Tipi Kuprasear: a little basketball player, a great heart for the poor and the young
In love with the red cross of St. Camillus and the spirituality of the Blessed Maria Domenica Brun Barbantini. At the service of the poor: it is in this way that one understands a life given for Christ, in happiness. WATCH HERE
NEW THINGS
Matthew Fforde – La pastorale della solitudine (‘Pastoral Care for Loneliness’)
The epidemic of loneliness, a dramatic ‘sign of the times’, is spreading in various forms in Western societies. Because of this malady of our epoch, many of the children of post-modernity are unhappy children. To respond to this scourge, and counter the consequences of the withdrawal of Christian culture, the author proposes a new initiative, a new social ministry, a new apostolate: pastoral care for loneliness. Continue here
MILOME Newsletter from St. Camillus Dala Kiye January 2020-January 2020
CamUp – Philippine Province Newsletter November December 2019
CAMILLIANI/CAMILLIANS
You can download number 3/4/2019, nn. 217-218 – year XXXIII July-December 2019
DECEASED RELIGIOUS
‘See, now they vanish, the faces and places, with the self which, as it could, loved them. To become renewed, transfigured, in another pattern’ (T.S. Eliot).
The Camillian religous of the Camillian Delegation in Peru announce the death of their confrere Br. Guido Emond Piquete (born: 1.10.1946; religious profession: 07.4.1977; perpetual vows: 19.9.1980). His death took place on 14 February 2020. READ THE OBITUARY HERE
The women Ministers of the Sick of St. Camillus announce the death of their beloved sister Sr. Angelica Lucarelli who died on 6 February 2020 at the city hospital of Lucca. Sr. Angelica was 80 years old and had spent 55 years as a woman religious dedicated to service to God and her brothers and sisters in need.
‘Now they live in Christ whom they met in the Church, followed in our vocation, and served in the sick and the suffering. Trusting that the Lord, the Holy Virgin our Queen, St. Camillus, the Blessed Luigi Tezza, the Blessed Giuseppina Vannini, the Blessed Enrico Rebuschini and the Blessed Maria Domenica Brun Barbantini and our deceased religious brothers and sisters, will welcome them in their midst, we commend them in our prayers, remembering them with affection, esteem and gratitude’.
PRAYER FOR THE VICTIMS OF ALL TYPES OF DISASTERS – CADIS
For all the victims of all types of disasters, for people who have lost their lives, for their loved ones, for the survivors, and for all those who work to provide help, we pray:
God in heaven, who has created and who preserves every existence,
You know all of our sadness and our suffering. May all the victims of all types of disasters be welcomed in your peace! Receive, we pray, in your mercy, our very many brothers and sisters buried by the forces unleashed by nature. Lead them to your home!
Comfort the pain of so many families, dry the tears of so many brothers and sisters, offer protection to the loneliness of so many orphans. Instil courage into everyone so that pain is transformed into a journey of growth and hope.
