What is so unique about the Ministers of the Infirm (Camillians)? Fr. Calisto Vendrame, MI, former Superior General of the Order, explains its specific charism and spirituality.

CAMILLIAN CHARISM

In the time of Saint Camillus the appeals that came form the world of the sick were strong. Camillus after his conversion, which put him on the path of love, became sensitive to the voice of the sick. He became for them the Good Samaritan according to the example of Christ, whose merciful love he himself had experienced.

For some years Camillus struggled alone to change the situation… It was one night in mid-August in 1582 that the solution sprang up: Why not gather together men of prayer and goodness, who were not lacking among the personnel, and form a community of persons who loved each other as brothers and who would devote themselves to the service of the sick out of pure love, with the heart of a mother, following the inspirations of the Holy Spirit? It was a light that came from God, who wished to make Camillus a "Camillian," father and brother of a large religious family. It was the charism of the Founder…

Thus, the specificity of the Camillian charism is love for the sick, lived in a community of fathers and brothers.

(Fr. Calisto Vendrame, MI, Camillians Today, p. 23, 27)

CAMILLIAN SPIRITUALITY

In a few lines the Constitution of the Order of St. Camillus (art. 13) indicates the profound evangelical foundation on which the spirituality that flows from our charism is based: the presence of Christ in us as we serve the sick, and the presence of Christ in the sick whom we serve. They are like the two rails of our spiritual journey.

We may say that our entire Constitution , an expression of the experience of the founder, is pervaded by a double conviction: on the one hand, we identify ourselves with the merciful Christ and become good Samaritans to our neighbor in his greatest moment of vulnerability; on the other, we recognize Christ crucified in the person who suffers. In other words: we wish to be Jesus for the sick and serve Jesus in the sick.

(Fr. Calisto Vendrame, MI, Camillians Today, p. 27)

As you have seen, we Camillians wear a red  cross on the right breast of our habits. This red  cross symbolizes our charism, spirituality and ministry.  First of all, St. Camillus intended this emblem to be a  reminder. He wanted us, his followers, to keep in  mind that our essential business is service of the sick,  especially the poor. We are always remember that when  we take on this ministry we're in for a lot of hard work,  suffering and even death.

Red is the color of our cross. With this color, there is no  forgetting that the cross we carry is marked by the blood  of Christ - the One St. Camillus followed and whom he wants us to follow even until death.