The traditional Easter retreat of the employees of the ‘Madre Giuseppina Vannini’ of Rome took place this year (for the first time) at the generalate house of the Camillians. ‘A place chosen not by accident’, explained Sister Laura Cortese, a Daughter of St. Camillus and the financial administrator of the hospital, ‘to celebrate in a worthy way the fourth centenary of the death of the saint and to learn about his charism from close at hand’. More than a hundred of the members of the hospital community of the Vannini Hospital took part in the retreat.

The meeting opened with the reflections of Brother Carlo Mangione – who is head of the initiatives for the fourth centenary – and he dwelt upon the meaning of holy Easter, starting with the exclamation of the risen Christ: ‘Peace be with you!’. Brother Carlo invited those who were present to ‘rediscover every day the dimension of peace and resurrection, cultivating the talents one has and being aware of one’s frailties which can, however, become points of strength’.

His talk then moved to the life of St. Camillus and his action of reform in the health-care field.: The employees of the Vannini Hospital read and commented upon the ‘ten commandments of the health-care worker’ written by the biographer of St. Camillus, Alessandro Pronzato, choosing some of the phrases that were most meaningful for, and coherent with, their work.

The retreat continued with a visit to the museum dedicated to St. Camillus (including the Cubiculum where the saint died) and with a celebration of the Eucharist presided over by Father Hubert Goudjinou, the consultor for formation of the Camillians. The Vicar General of the Order, Father Paolo Guarise, brought his greetings to the employees of the hospital who halted in prayer in front of the simulacrum containing the body of St. Camillus.

‘This retreat’, commented the nurse of the Vannini Hospital, Lucio D’Amico, ‘has brought us to the centre of Camillian spirituality, on which we try to base our daily work as health-care workers. Following the example of St. Camillus, we, too, want to put more heart in our hands, sharing the pain of our patients and doing as much as possible to alleviate their suffering’.

Look here at the photographic gallery

Look here at the press information