A Soldier Surrenders: The Conversion of Saint Camillus de Lellis

This book recounts the story of the dramatic conversion and inspiring goodness of the soldier Camillus de Lellis who lived in the late 1500s and who became the founder of the religious order known then as "Ministers of the Sick", now called the "Hospitallers". The life of St. Camillus contains an intriguing combination of drama, military battles, sickness and disease, conversion to God, and great charity for countless suffering people, be they dying soldiers, prisoners, or patients in the hospitals that he founded. Camillus is a saint with whom many can identify because for years he was a very worldly man. He was large (6 and a half feet tall), a soldier who fought against the Turks, and one who had a terrible addiction to gambling, which continually reduced him to poverty and shame. He also suffered tremendously throughout his life from various ailments-a crippling leg disease for 46 years, a rupture for 38 years, chronically painful feet, and a distaste for food that often caused inability to retain it. None of his own great sufferings kept him from always thinking of others first and striving to serve the many sick and dying people under his care. He eventually conquered his personal weaknesses, such as gambling, but not without a long and constant struggle. He is an example of perseverance that will inspire readers with their own struggles, whether they be moral, spiritual, or physical. God rewarded Camillus with many followers, who joined his order to serve the sick and dying, as well as with great spiritual gifts including prophecy and miracles. St. Camillus was a forerunner of the work of the International Red Cross, and he used that same symbol for his own religious order. Pope Leo XIII canonized him in 1746 and declared him the Patron of the Sick. Book jacket.… (more)