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Home , Camillus de Lellis

Staying in Touch

From ‘Square to Square’ looking for the Roots of the Dramatic Conversion of a Young Tearaway

e left each other here in the great thespacious‘PiazzadelPopolo’.ThehistorianCi- W squareatthetopofthehillofBucchian- catelli writes that ‘Camillus found himself free of ico while the first shadows of evening were war although badly treated by life, or worse by falling.1 Andtodaywithsomepeopledevotedto money,giventhatthistimehehadgambledaway our St. Camillus, and people who esteem him, everything[justas]inheloweredhimself whohavecometothetownwherehewasborn againtogamblinghisshirtwhichhewaswearing for a week of study and the discovery of his beneathhisjacket,whichhappenedtohiminSt. ‘charism’, in the early morning we leave again BartholomewStreetinthesquareofthenewcas- fromheretowardsthepromontoryofGargano– tleofthatcity.Thusnowindirestraitsasaman the first ‘Camillian Itinerary from Bucchianico’ – whowasalmostdesperate,hedecidedtogoout searchingfortherootsofhisdramatic‘Conver- into the world to make his fortune’. We find him sion’whichtookplaceon2February1575when again here, in this town on the sea, because he hewasreturningfromSanGiovanniRotondoto hopedtoobtainajob. Manfredonia,andwhichturnedtheancienttown Churchandthesquare,seenbytheflightofan wherehewasbornupsidedown. albatross, have at their backs some hundreds of Our‘guide’isthemanuscriptofhiscontempo- metresawaytheportontheAdriatic,andperhaps rary,Fr.SanzioCicatelli,areligiousofhis,whichis itwasforthisreasonthatCamillusarrivedhere.Fr. widely distributed and much known about in the Cicatrelliwritesthaton30November1574‘forced worldofthe‘CamillianFamily’.2 by need Camillus lowered himself in front of the The story that we are following is that of the principalchurchofthatcityonthedayofSt.An- Merciful God of Love who never abandoned a drewtheApostle,andwithgreatembarrassment, ‘ProdigalSon’andwhowasincarnatedintimein toaskforalmswithhishatinhishandaspoorsol- hewhoreceivedonhisearthlyjourneyHis will to diers who have come back from war do, [and 3 conform himself to His Son. while]hesofullofshamehewasdoubtfulabout whetherheshouldaccostandaskforalmsfroma the firSt Stage: from ‘Square to Square’ groupofnobleswhowerespeakingtoeachother’, Thisisnotabizarretitlecaptatio benevolentiae ithappenedthat‘agoodoldmancalledAntoniodi but because in this extraordinary adventure of Nicastro,theProcuratoroftheCapuchinFathers CamillustheManthereisaspecificgeographical ofthatcity,askedhimifhewantedtoworkashe areawhichcontainsthe memory ofanencounter wouldfindhimajobinafriaryoftheCapuchins between ‘heaven and earth’ and which down the whichwasthenbeingbuilt’. centurieshasplacedyouincontactwitha‘Tentof The shield of haughtiness and pride of the God’ during the pilgrimage of men towards His youngCamillus,thesonof‘MisterGiovannideLel- HolyMountain:itisa‘SquareinfrontofaChurch’, liswhowasoneoftheprincipalcitizensofthisland andanaridandstonyvalleyknownasthe‘Valley Bucclanicoandrelatedtoeveryone’,5 whosegod- ofHell’.Weareheadinginthatdirectionandour fathersathisbaptismwereBaronGentilediTorri- journeyisnota…‘touristictrip’! cellaandhiswifeSimoniad’UgnidiNapoli6,final- Here we are in Manfredonia in front of the lybegantobeloweredandthiswouldbethebe- ChurchofSt.Dominic4 whichstillhasinfrontofit ginningofhissalvation.

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bLeSSed…miSfortune! ledhimintheguiseofaprodigalsonbythewayof theneedtolookafteranimals,wantingthenbythis AfterleavingtheChurchofSt.Dominicwego meanstodrawhimtohisrealacknowledgement’. towardstheancientfriarywheretheyoungCamil- And the friary of the Capuchins of Manfredonia lus was a guest of the Capuchin  first as a wastheplaceofhis‘health’,afurthersteptowards manualworkerandthenasaservant.Thisfriary hissalvation. wasbuiltin1571outsidethewallsofthetownas aresultofadecisiontakenbythefriarswhowant- edtohaveanorchard.Thefirstchurch,dedicated SubLiminaL exerCiSeS for 60 dayS… to‘St.MaryofVictory’,wassackedbytheTurksin Weareinthecloisteroftheoldfriary,weread 1620,setfiretoandrobbedofallofitsprecious theplaqueplacedherebytheCamilliansin1975 objects. In 1662 it was restored and given the to commemorate the ‘Fourth Centenary of the nameof‘St.MaryofHumility’.Thiswasthework Conversion’,andwealsoventuretoentersomelo- ofadevoutman,asonecanunderstandfroman cale.Thechurchissaferandinit,eventhoughitis inscription.Amongsttheearlyareastosurviveof nottheoriginalchurch,wastobeheardthesinging theancientfriarythatofgreatestimportanceisthe ofthepsalmsthatthegoodfriarsbydayandinthe cloister,aplacethatwascertainlyfrequentedand eveningraisedupincalmandpeacefulchoruses, walkedthroughbyouryoungCamillus.In1811the infusingpeaceintheheartsofthosewhosewho friarywascloseddefinitivelyandsomeyearslater, attendedthedivineoffices. togetherwiththechurch,itbecameapartofthe Fr. Cicatelli gives us a detailed and dramatic cemeteryofthecommune. descriptionofthestateofmindofCamillusandwe Hiswasablessed misfortune!Oneofthosethat inviteareadingofitasithasbeenhandeddownto werewellgluedonandwhichmadehimthe…next us. Briefly we see him champ the bit, night after chickentobeplucked!Wesay‘blessed’becauseif night,withthecrueltyofthemiseryandthepover- hehadhadsomesavingstokeephimwarminthe tyintowhichhehadfallen,whichdugeverdeeper cold,andinhisownhome,whoknowswhatdirec- intohisfleshlikeasharpblade,generatingadra- tionhislifewouldhavetaken.Itistruethatlimits maticpsychologicalsituationmadeevenmoreco- cannotbeappliedtoGodbutitisequallyhistorical- gentbythe‘flashes’ofthetearawayandthought- lyproventhatifacreaturepersistsinnotlistening less life to which he had given himself over, to His paternal voice, as our young tearaway flavouredbysomememoryofa‘glorious’military Camillus did, deserting as he did more than one deedlikethesongofasickening‘siren’.Thiswas call,wheredoesheendup? a state of mind that contrasted strongly with the InCamillianliteraturenotracecanbefoundof serenityandthepeacelivedbythosemen,young that SignorAntonio di Nicastro, and the fact that and not so young, without shoes and poor by mention is made of him is something we owe to choice:theCapuchinfriarswhohadtakenhimin. FatherCamillusalone,whocertainlyfortherestof Camillusdidnotintheleastthinkofchanging his life blessed him and commended him to the hislife.Hedreamedofthearrivalof‘spring’asa Lord. This is not written down anywhere but we liberationfromthatdesperatesituationwhenfinal- cansafelydeducethattheconcernthathehadfor ly he could take up the only trade that he knew, desperate individuals, as Camillus was on the thatofbeinga‘mercenarysoldier’.Inacrudeway morningof30November1574outsidethatchurch, Cicatelliwritesthat‘hisideawastostaywiththose cametohimfromthatgreatlessonoflisteningand religious only to earn some money so as to get solidarityoftheother whogivesyouahand.Per- throughthewinterandthentoreturnimmediately hapsthegoodold man Antoniodeservesaplaque tothevomit,thatistosaytogamblingandtowar orahalfstatuesomefourhundredyearsorsoaf- ifthiswaspossible’.The‘blacknight’ofthesoulof terthatday…Andthuson1December1574be- Camillus, impregnated with dismay and dramatic ganthenewadventureofCamillusinthefriaryof disquiet,wassubjectedtokindsof‘subliminalspir- theCapuchins,whereFr.Guardiano‘gaveajobto itualexercises’whichdescendedintothedepthsof Camillus whereby with two donkeys he brought his spirit, accompanied by the harmonies of water,stonesandlimetothesite’. singing during the night of ‘Early Morning’ of the Itwassaidatthebeginningthat Merciful Love goodfriarsinthelittlechurchofthefriary,andby alwaysfollowsa‘ProdigalSon’.AndCamillusex- day the peace and the joy of ‘Men of God’ who perienced that gospel parable. This is confirmed everydayimposedthemselvesaswitnessestothe byFr.Cicatelliwhoasregardstheworkwiththe presenceofGodtheMercifulFather,towhomthey ‘twodonkeys’writes:‘ThusitwasthattheAlmighty hadgiventheirlives.

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for infinite centuries and centuries’ (Letter to the Faithful,10;FF202). Inmyview,theyoungtearawayCamillusduring the sixty days that he spent in Manfredonia ab- sorbed,evenifunconsciously,allofthepenetrat- ing force of the ‘Mystery of the Incarnation’, and was the beginning of the ‘History of Salvation’ which started with the ‘Divine Child’ laid in the strawofthatpoormanger,andwarmedinthearms of his Immaculate Mother, as felt by Francesco:thismadeabreachinhisheartwhich, inthefinalanalysis,wasnotthatofastubbornand hardenedsinner! antico Convento S. Giovanni rotondo Thiswastherootthatinstalleditselfintheheart of that tearaway and poor young Camillus that Christmas Night of 1574, which would then ex- ThatinsistentGregorianchantwiththeharmo- plodeonthemorningofthenext2February1575 nyoftheMagnificat intheheartofdarknesswasa on the stony terrain of Gargano when returning weak light that advanced in those ‘sixty dark homefromSanGiovanniRotondo.Anditrevolu- nights’ of his young life (with the strong contrast tionisedhislife.Itwasthisarcaneandmysterious betweenhischoiceoflifeandthatofthegoodCa- sacred celestial fluid in which he was immersed puchin friars who hosted him) and continued the thatwouldtheninvadeallofhis‘intelligentbeing’ workofbreakingdownhisarmoureddefenceand duringthosetwenty-fourhoursatthebeginningof writinginthedepthsofhisconsciencetheprinci- February1575. plesofanuprightlifetobefollowed,preparinghim unconsciouslyforthat‘imminentinvitationofGod’, the tent of merCifuL god whichmanytimesinthepasthehadnotlistened toandwhichonceagainHisgoodMinisterwould Theexperienceoflifethatwehavemakesus proposetohim. liveandtouchintheirrealityplaceswherea‘Tent oftheMercifulGod’ispresentandactiveonthe ChriStmaS night 1574 pathway of men. These are sanctuaries, a very highproportionofwhichare Marian.AtSanGio- Thisisnotwrittendownanywherebutwecan vanniRotondo,aswell,therehasbeenonesince becertainthatonChristmasnight1574healso thetimesofouryoungCamillus:theancientlittle encountered and experienced a holy perform- churchdedicatedto‘OurLadyofGraces’,nextto anceofthe‘CribofGreccio’oftheseraphicFa- theoldCapuchinfriary,whichwasbegunin1540.7 therFrancesco,withallthethrillingrevisitingof Todayitescapestheattentionofthosewhoarrive the‘HolyMysteryofMysteries’,andthatithadan at that ‘Square’ immersed in the grandeur of the impactonhissoulatthemostdramaticmoment two churches built to receive over time the thou- ofhisyounglifeasamanwhowasafailure,on sands,millionsoffaithful,atthefeetof‘StPadre theedgeofadarkabyss.Sweptforwardandcra- Pio’,an exceptional minister of the Mercy of God. dledinthemysticandwarmwavesraisedbythe Weenterontiptoes,andaremoved,inthisan- chorusofthe‘CapuchinFraternity’ofthatfriaryin cientlittlechurchwhichintheearlyhoursof2Feb- Sipontinowhichhadhostedhimsince1Decem- ruary1575witnessedasleepyyoungmanwhofor ber, he went back to the stables of his home thewholenighthadfoughthislastbattleofresist- wherehismotherCamillahadgivenbirthtohim, ance to the voice of God and to subject his in- feeling again that motherly warmth that he had stinctsof‘noblepride’tocontrol,aliasthehaughti- neverforgotten. nessandprideofafamilywithacoatofarms. Inthesamewaywecanbecertainthathefelt TheimageofOurLadywithBabyJesus,which from those good little brothers that renewed im- isontheatitscentre,isapaintingonasoft pulsetowardstheworldofFriarFrancesco:‘Every canvasofthelate-sixteenthcentury,certainlyare- creature that is in the sky and the earth and the productionofanoriginalpaintinginafrescoonthe sea…shouldgivepraisetoGod,honourandbene- wall. The restoration of 1959 revealed that ‘the diction, because He alone is almighty and ad- purelinesoftheeyebrowsandthealmond-shaped mirableandgloriousandholyandworthyofpraise eyes typical of the maestros of Dugento, and

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which we see in the Maestro of the Church St. Mary Magdalene, in Cimabue and in Duccio da Buoninsegna,conferonthefaceoftheMadonnaa sweetness,ahumanityandamajestythataretru- lyevocative’.8 Thisisthesameimagethattransmittedtothe spiritofouryoungCamillustheinteriorpeaceand theGraceofthatChild,whointhearmsofhisIm- maculateMother‘seemstowanttodistributece- lestial graces with his own hands, through the lymph of the maternal breast that was nourished byhisdivinehumanity,inthesamewaythatthe celestial graces are a divine nourishment for hu- manity’.9 Itisbeautifulandcalmingtostayhere,inthislit- tlechurchinaperennialmysticalpenumbra,per- Chiesetta Beata Vergine delle Grazie haps imagining ourselves kneeling beside our movedCamillus,fromwherehewillleavetomeet theLordwhoiscomingwithHisforgivenessand Ourverygoodtravellingcompanion,Fr.Cicatel- HisGrace,thereintheValle dell’In fer no.Anditis li,informsusthatCamilluswasridingonhisdon- also electrifying to bring to mind that after that keybetweentwoflasksofwinewitha‘bagoftagli- morning,inthissamelittlechurch,afterfourhun- olini’,afraternalexchangewithhisfriaryinManfre- dredyears,theHolyFriar‘PadrePio’,standingin donia, thinking over the words of the previous thechoir,whichisbehindus,whilehewaspraying evening spoken by Father Guardiano Angelo, infrontofthegreatCrucifiedChrist,receivedhis mixed with the turbine of warm feelings that had stigmata on 20 September 1918, while he was beenignitedinfrontoftheMother of Graces,when ‘likeanotherSt.Paulhewassuddenlystruckfrom prayingaftercelebratingHolyMass.10 Andthatun- tiltheendofhisdays,lookingatthesweet Image heaven by an interior ray of light which was so of Our Lady of Graces,hewasanexceptionaldis- greatforhismiserablestatethatoutofcontrition penseroftheforgivenessofGodtheFather,rec- hethoughtthathisheartwascompletelyreduced, oncilingwithHimaninfiniteandincalculablenum- andbrokenwithpain,nowbecauseoftheunusual berofsouls. commotionthathefeltwithinhimhewasnolonger Divine mysteries…a strip of holy land where abletoride,asthoughhitbythedivinelighthefell GodtheFatherbythemeritsoftheSonacceptsas tothegroundinthemiddleoftheroad’. intermediary the Bride of the Holy Spirit, the Im- The ‘giant’ had collapsed….resistance to the maculateMotherofherSonJesus! voiceofGodvanishedlikesnowinthesun.Now therewasayoungmanwho‘wasneversatedin shakinghimselfandbeatinghimselfstronglyonhis in the ‘VaLLe deLL’inferno’… chest’whonolongerevenhadthecouragetoraise WegooutofthelittleChurchandwemoveto- hiseyestoheavenoutofshameandbecausehe wardsthe‘Valledell’inferno’,whichisnotveryfar wasafraidtolookatit,andwhoimploredonly:“for- away from the inhabited centre, in an arid and give me Lord, forgive this great sinner, and give stonyareaontheold‘mulepath’whichwentdown mespaceforreal”. towards Manfredonia. Was there snow that day? A ‘radical conversion’, consistent with the Whoknows!Certainlyafreezingcold,asImyself lifestyleoftheyoungCamillus.Justasduringthe haveoftenencounteredwhencomingdownhere firststageofhislifehehadpursuedtheconquest fromBucchianicoforthe‘Commemoration’ofthat of‘poweroverothers’,sonowwasunleashedthe day.AndIcanassureyouthatwithaskycovered will to eliminate that malefic root, the origin and byblackclouds,thearidareasowedwiththestone causeofthesicknessofhissoulwhichhadparal- ofGarganowhichseemedtohimtobeasspectral ysed him until the age of twenty-five. A healing asever,thatemptinessandcoldofhissoulwhich whichthewitnesswhoreceivedhisdirectaccount hehadexperiencedforsomehours,yearningfor ofit,FatherPadreCicatelli,waskeentoempha- thatwarmfirethathadbeenofferedtohimbenign- sisetookplace‘on2February1575,holyyear,on lyfromonhighinthewarmthofthelittlechurch, WednesdaythemostsolemndayofthePurifica- nowtookonmaterialform. tionofthealwaysimmaculateVirgin’.

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The crossing of Camillus’ eyes with the ‘al- 1 Since26July2012dedicatedtothefellowtownsman mond-shaped eyes typical of the maestros of ‘St.CamillusdeLellis’afterfortydaysofthepresenceof Dugento’ of the sweet ‘Our Lady of Graces’ the‘SacredReliquaryofhisBody’inthecryptofhissanc- tuary. markedhimfortherestofhislife,sothatheoften 2 S.Cicatelli,Vita del P. Camillo de Lellis –manuscript proclaimed:‘Woetowesinners,ifwedidnothave printed and published by the Camillian Religious, , thisgreatLadyAdvocateinheaven,shebeingthe 1980,editedbyFr.Sannazzaro. Treasurer of all the graces, that come from the 3 Cf.Romans8:29. handsofHisDivineMajesty’.11 4 ThiswasbuiltbyCharlesIIofAnjoubetween1294 and1299andinhabitedbytheDominicanFathersuntilthe invasion of the Turks in 1620. In the sacristy of the thir- the return to the firSt ‘Square’ teenthcenturyintheChapelofMaryMagdalene,paintedin By now it is getting dark and the time has afrescowasaportrayaloftheCrucifiedChrist.Byroyalde- creeof28April1815thefriarybecamethepropertyofthe cometoreturntoour‘basecamp’locatedinthe communeofManfredonia. townwhereoursaintwasborn–Bucchianico. 5 Processus Theatinus, Domenica Giuseppa Caputo, Mypilgrimsarealittletiredphysically,yes,but aged89,f.116. with their spirits very high because they have 6 Processus Romanus ,‘GiovanVincenzodiTorricella, touchedwiththeirhandshowtheMercifulLove BaronedidettaTerra’,f.164t. 7 of God the Father transformed a young man TheCapuchinsappearedinS.GiovanniRotondoin 1540becausetheyhadbeeninvitedbythewholeofthe dedicated to arms and an angry gambler with university.Thebuildingworkbegunin1540continuedvery cardsanddiceintoa‘GiantofCharity’,ashe slowlyandwasbegunagainin1545.Stronglydamagedto- would be known for four hundred years, who gether with the friary by the earthquake of 1624, the taught people through his ‘Nova Caritatis restorationworkwasfinishedin1629. Schola’ toseeJesusChristinthetroubledface 8 AlessandrodaRipabottoni,Dietro le sue orme - Gui- ofasickbrotherorsister. da storico spirituale ai luoghi di Padre Pio (Ed.VocediP. Pio,S.GiovanniRotondo,Foggia,1979),p.186. We leave the ‘Valle dell’Inferno’ singing in the 9 Ibid.,p.187. streetsomepraisesofthe‘mirabilia Dei’ 10 Accordingtocertifiedbiographers,hehimselfrelated that we received as a gift today, while some that‘SuddenlyIwasenvelopedinaseaofdazzlinglight.In people begin to doze, and the lights of the night thatlightIsawJesusandhewasverybeautiful.Fromhis whichhugtheA14fusewiththestarsofthesky, woundscameraysofverywhitelightwhichpenetratedmy and we deceive ourselves that they want to em- hands,myfeetandmyribs.Theywerelikebladesoffire that penetrated my flesh, perforating, cutting, breaking. I braceusandcometowardsus… feltthatIwasdying.Thepainwasimmense’. 11 S.Cicatelli,Vita del P. Camillo de Lellis (Guglielmo fr. felice ruffini Facciotti,Rome,1624),p.298.

ara votiva nella “Valle dell’Inferno”

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