On 15 September 2021, the religious of the Camillian Province of Brazil began their celebrations of the Jubilee Year, looking forward to the commemoration of the hundredth anniversary of the arrival of the first Camillians in the Terra de Santa Cruz.

On 15 September, at Villa Pompéia in the Parish of Our Lady of the Rosary, a Holy Mass was celebrated to begin the celebrations for this jubilee year.

The celebration of the Eucharist to begin the celebrations was presided over by Fr. Antonio Mendes Freitas, the Provincial Superior, with the participation of numerous religious, novices, seminarians, members of the Lay Camillian Family, people who work with the various Camillian works, and members of the Camillian charismatic family. During this jubilee year innumerable events have been organised to live and rejoice at the good that our religious have done, continue to do, and will also do in the future in Brazil.

The most emblematic event will be the pilgrimage of the missionary cross to all the places where we have been present with our Camillian charism in order to make our Saint, Father Camillus de Lellis, increasingly alive, loved and known about. In addition to the official hymn, various songs have been written and set to music that were written exclusively for this jubilee event, in addition to liturgical material and a basic text that will be used as instruments to experience and celebrate in a better way this time of grace.

The ending of the centenary year is envisaged for 15 September 2022 at the National Sanctuary of Our Lady ‘Parecida’: the solemn ending will be preceded by a Camillian week of formation and encounter for religious and lay people in order to praise God for our vocation and our mission. In addition, all the events of the Camillian Province of Brazil during the course of the year will be marked by various jubilee celebrations.

The history of the arrival of the first religious was due to the priest Teófilo Sanson who was an Italian and came from the Archdiocese of Mariana-MG. During a trip to Italy he was admitted to a hospital in Padua. Fr. Sanson was looked after by our Camillian religious and noticing their care and concern developed contacts so that the Camillians could be invited by the then Archbishop of Milan, Msgr. Silvério Gomes Pimenta, to go to Brazil, and more specifically to the city of Mariana-MG.

The official invitation arrived in June 1922 thanks to the support of the Provincial Superior of the Province of Lombardy and Veneto, Fr. Angelo Carazzo, and the then Superior General, Fr. Afonso Maria Andrioli.

The first Camillians to leave for Brazil were Fr. Innocente Radrizzani and Fr. Eugenio Dalla Giacoma. They left in 29 August 1922 and reached the port of Niterói-RJ on 15 September 1922.

For this generous missionary initiative our gratitude goes to the Province of Lombardy and Veneto which for many years has accompanied its religious, helping to construct this mission which today bears fruit for the Church and for the building up of the Kingdom of God.

  Let us continue resolutely in our mission and in the building up of history, trusting in the goodness of God, through the intercession of Our Lady, Health of the Sick, and of Camillus our Saint and Father Founder!