Camillus de Lellis founded the Ministers of the Sick, the first modern religious order devoted specifically to caring for the sick.
Camillus was born in Bucchianico, Italy, in 1550. After a troubled early life as a soldier and gambler, he experienced a religious conversion. A chronic leg wound led him to hospitals, where he saw poor patients receive inadequate care and resolved to serve them.
He founded the Order of Clerks Regular Ministers to the Sick in Rome in 1582. Its members became known as the Camillians and adopted a red cross as a distinctive sign. The order served patients in hospitals and during epidemics, combining nursing with sacramental ministry.
Camillus died in Rome in 1614 and was canonized in 1746 by Pope Benedict XIV. He is a patron of hospitals, nurses, and the sick. John of God also founded an important hospital-serving order, but the Camillian foundation is specifically identified with organized healthcare ministry.