The Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee celebrated the feast day of St. Camillus de Lellis recently, telling parishioners of the things that influenced Camillus’ decision to minister to the sick.

“Orphaned at a young age, St. Camillus pursued a military career like his late father,” the diocese posted on Facebook recently. “His severe gambling problem left him desperate, and he found himself doing menial work for a group of Franciscans. He resolved to change his life and sought to join the order. Due to a debilitating wound in his leg, St. Camillus was not received into the order. He instead traveled to Rome to work in a hospice.” 

St. Camillus de Lellis was born in Italy in 1550, Britannica said. He converted at the age of 25 before embarking on his hospice work. It was nine years later that he was ordained a priest, and shortly afterward Pope Gregory XIV approved creating a group of priests that Camillus had formed to care for the sick. The group became an order called Ministers of the Sick, which grew from its original 12 members to more than 300 members at the time of Camillus' death in 1614. 

For that dedication to caring for the ill, Camillus is recognized at the patron saint of sick people, hospitals, nurses and health care workers, Franciscan Media said. Catholics celebrate his feast day each year on July 18. 

"Commitment is doing what you said you would do, after the feeling you said it in has passed,” St. Camillus once said, quoted in the diocese’s post.

Camillus' Ministers of the Sick first worked at Holy Ghost Hospital in Rome, but after several years they were able to establish a new location in Naples, Catholic.org said. The group then went on to care for people suffering from the plague, and they later went out to care for injured soldiers in Croatia and Hungary. 

Camillus was beatified in 1742 and canonized in 1746 by Pope Benedict XIV. 

“Thank you St. Camillus de Lellis for your dedication to serving the sick,” the diocese posted. “Please, pray for us!”