The last time that the heart of St. Camillus came to our hospital was twenty-one years ago. Our memories of it are a little faded but looking back there was not so much warmth and participation as there has been in recent days. Like a short period of advent, during the week prior to the arrival of the heart, in every department and clinic, in the community of sisters and in the nursing school, a seven-day period of prayer and of reflection on the writings of St. Camillus took place. The pamphlet that was distributed and used contained passages from ‘ordini et modi che si hanno da tenere nelli hospitali in servire  li poveri infermi’. The words of St. Camillus which are always of such contemporary relevance took shape in the daily life of our wards and departments. ‘So who is arriving? The man who is a model for service!’ Thus the waiting was filled with joyous trepidation.

We witnessed the key to this seven-day period in the testimony of Fr. Carlo Mangione on Friday the eleventh of October, with the showing of the film ‘Pray for me’ on Saturday, and in the testimony of the group of the Task Force of the Camillians on Sunday afternoon.

Yes, indeed, Sunday afternoon, the eve: in the air one breathed in the arrival of the Father. And indeed even though without being heard the relic of the heart had already made its timid entrance into the hospital but…silence! Tomorrow is the great day. But tell me…can one keep a light hidden under a bushel? No! and so it was: the heart of our beloved Father had his first tribute of love.

And so the solemn day arrived: Monday 14 October (look at the date…does this not remind you of another fourteenth day, perhaps of July? What a beautiful coincidence). Even though the heart  was already in the hospital it nonetheless made its very solemn entrance. To wait for it at the entrance of the Vannini Hospital were H.E. Msgr. Leuzzi, the bishop responsible for pastoral care in health, Father Renato Salvatore, the superior General of the Ministers of the Sick, some priests, the chaplain of the hospital Fr. Alberto and a permanent deacon, the Mother Superior Sr. Romana Laureti, the Health-Care Director, Sr. Maura Moreschini, and the whole of the hospital community and the students in uniform. From the windows of the hospital and the neighbouring blocks people who could not take part physically witnessed the event. The valuable relic reached our hospital after being brought by a Camillian religious and two Daughters of St. Camillus, who gave it to the Most Reverend Father General Renato Salvatore, who in his turn, symbolically, entrusted it to His Excellency Msgr. Leuzzi. The solemn procession thus began. In the chapel of the hospital the heart was enthroned and a Holy Mass was celebrated that was presided over by Msgr. Leuzzi, at the end of which the relic began its ‘pellegrinatio’ in the wards and departments. And which section was it to visit first? The most sensitive one: ‘resuscitation’!

Then during the afternoon and the evening the heart visited the patients in the UTIC and the cardiology, medicine for women, medicine for men, and orthopaedic sections.

Tuesday 15 October: during the early morning the heart was taken to the polyclinic in Via Arce and to the physiotherapy department. This day was especially dedicated to the patients. In the early morning there was a very solemn celebration of the Eucharist to implore the Lord, through the intercession of Maria Salus infirmorum and St. Camillus, to heal those who suffer in body and spirit. In particular, all the patients in our hospital and all the sick people in the parishes of our prefecture (XIV), whose names had been gathered the previous weeks, were commended to the Lord.

The presence of four priests made this moment more beautiful and more solemn: Fr. Vincenzo Gallo who presided over the concelebration, Don Dario and Don Daniele of the major seminary, and Don Mariko, the new parish priest of Santa Giulia Billard.

During the course of the Holy Mass the sacrament of the anointing of the sick was administered according to the meaningful Catholic Greek rite and on the altar the lamp of the Good Samaritan was burning: wine and oil. The priests that were present invoked the blessing of the oil contained in the lamp and used it to anoint the sick people who were present.

At the end of the celebration of the Eucharist prayers were continued with the moment of the burning bush and the showing of the most holy sacrament which as in Lourdes was taken round with blessings of those who were present.

In the afternoon the relic of the heart of St. Camillus visited the departments of the day hospital, gynaecology, obstetrics, surgery and the operating theatre.

At 21.00, in the parish of St. Luke the Evangelist, the location of the XIV prefecture, a prayer vigil took place presided over by His Excellency Msgr. Marciante, the auxiliary bishop of the East of Rome. After the proclamation of the Gospel of Matthew chapter 25, His Excellency offered a reflection. Three testimonies then followed: Fabrizio related his experiences with the diversely abled, Sr. Gemma emphasised the importance of being near to the dying, and Lucio provided an account of his experience as a nurse. At the end those who were present drew near to the relic of the heart of St. Camillus.

Wednesday 16 October:: this day marked a number of events. The heart of the father celebrated the daughter: the Blessed Vannini, and both made solemn the ending of the centenary of this house which is today the Vannini Hospital, a part of the hundred arms that St. Camillus so wished for.

In the early morning: the relic made its way through the analysis laboratory, the Father Tezza polyclinic and the endoscopy clinic.

At 10.30 there began the solemn concelebration of the Eucharist for the feast of the Blessed Giuseppina Vannini, which was presided over by the Most Reverend Father Renato Salvatore and concelebrated by Msgr. Andrea Manto, the head of the office for pastoral care in health, by Fr. Alberto Cargnelli, the chaplain of the hospital, and by Fr. Francesco Bamonte, a religious of the Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The students of the Father Tezza School animated the singing and they were led by the nurse Lucio D’amico, who is the composer of songs dedicated to St. Camillus and to the Blessed Beata Vannini. The Most Reverend Mother General of the Daughters of St. Camillus, Sr. Laura Biondo, was also present at this celebration.

At the end the relic of the heart of St. Camillus went to the Father Terza Nursing School where it was welcomed with great affection by all the students. Br. Carlo Mangione offered them some reflections on St. Camillus.

During the afternoon the heart of St. Camillus continued its pellegrinatio in the sections dealing with emergency medicine, the emergency department, and the OBI.

Thursday 17 October: the last day.

The heart of St. Camillus was welcomed by those who work in the kitchens. We remembered how St. Camillus, when he was master of the house at the Hospital of St. James, paid especial attention to what the patients had to eat.

Towards the middle of the morning there was the much awaited ‘liturgy of heart transplants’. We can say that this moment of prayer was the culminating point of the whole day. The level of participation was extraordinary. Something that had never been seen before.

To guide this moment of prayer was Fr.  Renzo Campetella who, having previously been a nurse, was able to throw light – in the footsteps of St. Camillus – on what a good health-care worker should be. The key moment of this celebration was witnessed when one by one those who were present kneeled  in front of the relic of the heart of St. Camillus and Fr. Renzo placed his hands on them. This was the heart transplant: asking St. Camillus for a renewed spirit of charity in service to those people who suffer.

A procession of sisters and health-care workers drew near to the relic…it seemed that this would never end. We can say with certainty that those people who were present in the hospital on that day came to ask for graces from St. Camillus.

During the early afternoon the heart of St. Camillus engaged in a last stop in three services of the hospital: perhaps the most hidden but also the most important: the CIP, the directorate of the administration and then directorate of health care.

At 16.30 we entrusted this visit of the heart of St. Camillus to the Most Holy Mary with the saying of a special rosary, thinking about the mysteries of the sick – five healings carried out by Jesus. Father Hubert, a consultor to the Ministers of the Sick, ended these unforgettable days by providing us with the gift of a very valuable testimony.

At the end of the day the heart of St. Camillus was ready to return to its home: the Church of St. Mary Magdalene. The whole of the hospital community wanted to make an unexpected last tribute. At the entrance of the hospital, near to the car which was to take the valuable relic home, a festive and numerous crowd said goodbye to it with great affection. From the roofs of the hospital balloons in the shape of hearts came down. It seemed that there was a wish that the heart should not leave. The car was accompanied until it was outside the main gate of the hospital with people waving yellow foulards with the Camillian coat of arms and blocking Via di Acqua Bullicante.

What emptiness: the presence of the father has been felt very strongly in recent days. He was with us in our wards and departments: more heart in those hands. Yes, indeed! Father, your heart will always be distant in a material sense, but you, like Elijah, give us your spirit so that we can serve our suffering neighbours with love!

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