By Christina Hermoso
The Camillians Philippine Province continues to invite the faithful to visit and pray before the incorrupt heart relic of Saint Camillus which will be in the country until the end of March.
Devotees flock to touch and see the heart relic of St. Camillus de Lellis, patron of the sick at the Our Lady of La Paz Church in Makati City. (ALI VICOY / MANILA BULLETIN)
On Friday, Feb. 22, the heart relic will be available for veneration at the EDSA Shrine in Quezon City. On Saturday, Feb. 23, it will be at the Christ the King in Greenmeadows, Libis, Q.C. On Sunday, Feb. 24, it will be brought to the Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord in SM Megamall.
It will also make a pilgrim tour to key areas in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Its' last stop before it is brought back to Rome, Italy will be the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Batangas City by the end of March.
Rev. Fr. Jose Eloja, provincial superior of the Camillians Philippines said, the visit of the incorrupt heart of Saint Camillus “is a huge privilege and blessing. The patron saint of the sick, nurses, doctors, and hospitals is with us as an instrument for us to serve the Lord and the sick. The visit of his heart relic will also help strengthen the faith of devotees and the Filipinos,” Eloja said.
The preserved heart relic, which first visited the country in 2013 as part of a pilgrim tour in celebration of his 400th death anniversary which was observed in 2016, arrived on Feb. 2 from its major shrine, the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene in Rome. The complete list of the relic’s itinerary is posted in the FB page of The Camillians.
A dedicated priest, confessor, and miracle worker, St. Camillus, founder of the Clerks Regular Ministers to the Sick, and his followers cared and treated the sick as “living images of Christ” and considered serving the sick as serving God. He was bestowed with the gifts of healing and prophecy. Born in 1550 in Chietti, Italy, he died in 1614, and was canonized by Pope Benedict XIV in 1746.