Santi e Beati
Saint Camillus de Lellis and the incredible role of angels in his life
Editrice Shalom
Tempo di lettura: 4 min
Autore: Editrice Shalom
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When you enter a hospital, you have surely seen his image: the large red cross on the chest of an imposing man. We are talking about Saint Camillo de Lellis, patron saint of the sick, nurses, and healthcare workers. His life is well known. But what if we told you that behind that cross and that smile lay an even more surprising reality, a deep and tangible bond with the angels?
Get ready, because Saint Camillo not only believed in angels: he invoked them, listened to them, and, on more than one occasion, followed them!
From Wayward Soldier to Giant of Charity
First, let’s take a quick look at his story. Camillo was not born a saint. Imagine a man more than two meters tall, born in 1550 into a noble family from Abruzzo, but with a turbulent past: a soldier of fortune, a compulsive gambler, someone who squandered everything, ending up wandering aimlessly, almost like a “homeless man.”
But Heaven did not abandon him. A foot wound, an ulcer that tormented him throughout his life, led him to the Hospital of San Giacomo degli Incurabili in Rome. There, among society’s “outcasts,” Camillo discovered his true vocation: serving the sick “with love and kindness,” as a mother would care for her own children.
In 1582, with a few companions, he founded the Company of Ministers of the Sick, which later became the Order of Clerks Regular Ministers of the Sick (the Camillians) in 1591. His “revolution”? A fourth vow: to care for the sick, even at the risk of his own life. An act of pure love in an age when the incurable were often entrusted to criminals.
When Angels Knock at the Door (and More!)
And this is where his story becomes truly fascinating, filled with supernatural interventions that seem to have come straight out of a fantasy tale, but which were everyday reality for Camillo.
1. The Boy Who Wasn’t a Nephew
Imagine the scene: one evening, a distraught boy knocks on Father Camillo’s door and begs him: “Father, for the love of God, come quickly! It’s my grandmother! She’s dying!” Without hesitation, Camillo takes the holy oils and follows him. They make their way through the dark, foul-smelling alleys of Rome’s Pantheon district, climb the stairs of an old building, and reach a miserable attic.
The dying woman, seeing Camillo, burst into tears: “Father, it is Heaven that has sent you! I was so afraid of dying all alone, without the sacraments.” Camillo tried to explain that it was her nephew who had called him, but the woman interrupted him with words that chilled his blood: “Father, I have no nephews! All my children are dead! I am alone… I prayed to my guardian angel to go and find a priest. The angel went for you.” Camillo turned around and in the room… there was no one, only him and the woman. The boy had vanished into thin air. A guardian angel disguised as a “nephew”!
2. The Mysterious Guide in the Maremma
It was not the only episode. During a journey between Sarzana and Pisa, Camillus risks getting lost in the Maremma. He invokes his guardian angel, and what happens? A mysterious young man appears, takes hold of his horse’s reins, and leads him to safety, disappearing into thin air immediately afterward.
3. The rescue beneath the horse
Another time, having fallen from his horse near Acquapendente, he remains trapped beneath the animal. Desperate, he calls on his angel. Immediately, four peasants appear and lift him with extraordinary strength and grace, then… vanish into thin air, just as they had appeared.
4. The river and the voice that saves
Tired and disoriented, Camillus decides to swim across a river that seems calm. But just as he is getting ready, a voice stops him: “Camillus, don’t cross!”. The next day, two fishermen reveal that this stretch was full of deadly currents and that anyone who had attempted to swim there had drowned. Once again, his guardian angel had intervened, saving his life.
5. The celestial warrior at his side
Camillus had a special devotion to Saint Michael the Archangel. Baptized in the church dedicated to him, he chose him as the protector of his Order and as the defender of souls in their “final battle.” Every year he celebrated his feast with great solemnity and wanted Saint Michael to be depicted beside the Crucifix in the painting that accompanied him during his final illness. He was his personal celestial warrior!
6. Other people’s angels
His faith in angels was not limited to his guardian angel. Camillus also prayed for the angels of the sick and dying whom he assisted, and even for the celestial spirits who watched over the places he passed through. He firmly believed that every person was accompanied by an “invisible light,” ready to intervene if invoked with faith.
A charism that still speaks today
The life of Saint Camillus de Lellis is a powerful testimony not only to his tireless charity and unconditional love for the least among us, but also to a profound and authentic relationship with the spiritual world. For him, angels were not fables or allegories, but concrete presences, faithful companions on his journey, divine messengers.
His story reminds us that Heaven is not far away and that, sometimes, holiness is not an unattainable goal, but a sincere response and an openness to what lies beyond the visible. And that, perhaps, all it takes is a prayer, a sincere invocation, to feel Heaven respond, even through… an unknown boy.
And what kind of relationship do you have with your guardian angel? Do you invoke him, ask him for help and advice? Have you ever recognized his intervention in your life?
