The Heart of St. Camillus is Killucan bound

Killucan is set to become a beacon of faith and hope for Ireland's sick, not to mention those who care for them, when in mid-July, the heart of St. Camillus de Lellis will move outside Rome for only the third time in history, to be venerated in the north Westmeath village.The relic of the Italian saint - the patron saint of the sick and their carers - will appear in Ireland for the very first time, to mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Order of St. Camillus in Ireland.Since St. Camillus' death in 1614, the heart, which is based at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Rome, has remained in the Italian capital save on two occasions, when it was venerated in Poland and Peru. On July 9, it will arrive on Irish shores, before on July 11, landing at the headquarters of the Camillian Fathers at Riverstown House, Killucan, from where the Camillian Province in Ireland grew in 1935.Fr. Frank Monks, who served as Superior General of the Order of St. Camillus (the first English-speaking and Irish head of the order) before his return to Killucan from Rome in 2007, said that preparations are already under way to accommodate the large crowds hoped for in Killucan.Fr. Monks, a native of Howth, Co. Dublin, explained that the order is made up of those trained in medicine and many forms of healthcare, who choose to take their vows.St. Camillus, a soldier with a penchant for gambling (and later expelled from a hospital where he worked for that very reason), later experienced an epiphany when he became distressed at how plague victims were being treated in the city of Manfredonia."In 1590/91, around 350 young Camillians under St. Camillus died when tending to victims of plague, and the Pope was so touched by this that he raised them to the status of a religious order," Fr. Monks explained."That is one of the vows we take: that we nurse the sick, even when our own lives are in danger".For over four hundred years, members of the order bear the red cross symbol on their cassocks - a symbol which Fr. Monks believes influenced Henri Dunant, when he set up the International Red Cross."The Camillians were the first to use the symbol of the red cross, and I have no doubt that Henri Dunant, when he experienced the horrors of the battlefield at Solferino in the 1850s, was influenced by the presence of the Camillian ambulances," said Fr. Monks.SignificanceThe Killucan-based Camillian said that a triduum is celebrated in Killucan every year in the run-up to the feast of St. Camillus, but this year, it will take on an even greater significance.The heart of St. Camillus will arrive in Killucan on Sunday, July 11, and may be venerated each evening between 4pm and 9pm until the following Wednesday, July 14 (the feast of St. Camillus). Each evening, Mass and Novena prayers will take place from 7pm, led by Fr. Arnaldo Pangrazzi MI, an Italian-American priest who is a professor at the Camillian University in Rome.At 7pm on July 14, Mass will be celebrated by Most Rev. Dr. Michael Smith, Bishop of Meath, and from 10pm later that night to 4am the next morning, a Night Vigil of Gratitude will be observed in the presence of the Heart at the St. Camillus Nursing Centre Chapel.After leaving Killucan the following morning, the Heart will move to the Mater Hospital, Dublin (July 15), the Pro Cathedral in Dublin (July 16), and finally to the Shrine of Our Lady in Knock (July 24), before returning to Rome.With much devotion to St. Camillus in Westmeath and surrounding counties, large crowds are expected to venerate the relic over the four-day period, and arrangements are currently being made for car parking and other facilities.A draft itinerary is being prepared for the four days of worship.