This morning a small part of the heart of the priest and religious was exposed to the faithful. This was followed by a solemn mass presided over by the bishop of Cubao. An occasion to celebrate the ten-year mission of the order, whose first community in the archipelago dates back to 8 March 1975. The commitment in the health sector alongside the sick, following the charisma of the founder.
Manila (AsiaNews/CBCP) – Today, 8 March, is a special day for millions of Catholics in the Archdiocese of Manila and throughout the country who have the opportunity to venerate the relic of St Camillus de Lellis, patron saint of hospitals and the sick, on display to the faithful inside the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Cubao.
The place of worship opened this morning at 8.15 to allow the first faithful to venerate the relic, which is a small piece of the heart of the Italian priest and monk who lived between 1500 and 1600.
This was followed at 8.30 by the celebration of a solemn mass presided over by the Bishop of Cubao (a suffragan diocese of Manila), Monsignor Elias Ayuban Jr. At the end of the morning, the relic was transferred to the San Camillo Seminary in Marikina City for an event scheduled for 13.00.
The events and initiatives, including the exhibition of the relic, are part of the events scheduled to celebrate 50 years of the Camillian mission in the Philippines, serving the sick and suffering in particular.
In the 1960s, the Jesuit Father Hernando Maceda brought the relic of the heart of St Camillus to the Philippine archipelago after completing his studies in Rome.
It was a gift from a friend, the Camillian Father Mario Vanti, together with a request for prayers that ‘one day’ the order of St Camillus would be ‘established in your country’.
In 1974, two young Italian religious, Ivo Anselmi and Pietro Ferri, arrived in Manila to complete their theological studies at the Loyola School of Theology in Quezon City. Fr Maceda gave them the relic of St Camillus, thus - unknowingly - marking the beginning of the realisation of Fr Vanti's prayer.
The presence of the Camillians, together with Fr Ernesto Nidini, who studied at De La Salle University, contributed to the birth of the Camillian Foundation in the Philippines. Fifty years ago, on 8 March 1975, the first community in the country was founded in Quezon City, under the Lombardy-Venetia province.
The original presence of the Camillians in the archipelago included Fr Nidini as the first superior, together with Fr Alberto Roman, Fr Anselmo Zambotti and the newly ordained priests Fr Anselmi and Fr Ferri.
A year later the community joined the vice-province of the Far East, becoming the Far East Province in 1997. The following year the Philippine Camillians took charge of all seven communities scattered throughout the archipelago.
Finally, the official establishment of the Philippine province dates back to 1 July 2003, with Fr Anselmi as the first provincial superior.
The specific nature of the Camillian charisma, as also emerges from the mission in the Asian country, is the love for the sick, lived in a community of fathers and brothers.
Among the main events to celebrate 50 years of mission is the solemn declaration of ‘Spiritual Twinning’ between the parish church of Nuestra Señora de la Anunciata and the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, on 18 December 2024, the culminating event scheduled for today at the Parish of the Anunciata.
Since the first steps in 1975, the religious have expanded their mission, with 41 Filipino members now serving in their country of origin and on missions in Taiwan, Australia, Italy, Germany and the United States.
In the Philippines, the Camillians provide spiritual and medical assistance in 14 hospital chaplaincies, three hospitals, a polyclinic, a nursing home, two parishes and a pastoral centre.
The religious also run an NGO that deals with health, development and disaster response, and they support three training centres. Finally, they are actively involved in HIV/AIDS care, as well as collaborating with the health care commission of the Episcopal Conference.