The Camillians, formed by its nature of religious clerics and lay brothers, called fathers and brothers by St. Camillus, has, as its purpose, the complete service of the sick in the totality of their being without seeking economic gain. We give our full attention to the sick according to their individual needs and our own capacity and competence. Therefore, we are prepared to undertake every type of service, in the health care world for the building up of the Kingdom and the advancement of the people of God.

After the example of the Founder, each of us is committed to the ministry towards the sick “with all dignity and charity, with the affection a loving mother has for her only child who is ill as the Holy Spirit teaches us”.

By the promotion of health, the treatment of disease and the relief of pain, we cooperate in the work of God the creator, we glorify God in the human body and express our faith in the resurrection. In relieving and comforting the sick, we pay attention to their psychological condition, and to their family and social problems.

We accompany the sick and their families and we help them to assume their responsibilities in the face of disease and to learn to cope with it where permanent disability is involved. Appealing to their sense of personal dignity, we invite them to rise above attitudes of passivity and dependence by involving them in the healing process and by helping them to return to social life.

It is our earnest desire that the faithful who are ill live their lives in Christ and attain the holiness to which they are called. In the light of the Gospel and in ways suited to our times, we help the sick to find an answer to the persistent questions regarding the meaning of life both present and future, as well as their interdependence, and the meaning of pain, evil and death. We accompany them with our presence and with prayer, especially in moments of darkness and vulnerability, so as to become signs of hope for them. We strive to set in motion a dialogue of salvation, which is human, fraternal, open to all, and responsive to the needs and dispositions of the sick. This dialogue, conducted with clarity, prudence and good will, takes into account psychological insights as well as information from the cultural and religious context. Because the celebration of the sacraments constitutes the full form of evangelization, when circumstances so allow we act so that the sick draw near to them, in particular to the two sacraments of healing – reconciliation and the anointing of the sick – and to the Eucharist, as viaticum as well.

We support the chronically ill in their faith, so they may learn to cope with their limitations with perseverance, to make the time of suffering fruitful for the renewal and growth of their Christian lives and to practice, alone or with others, the apostolate of the sick. The spiritual care we devote to them aims especially at making fruitful, for the salvation of the world, the mystery of Redemption, in which all those who are united to the passion of Christ share.

With special compassion we assist the terminally ill and the dying so that, aware of the paschal mystery, they may entrust themselves into the hands of the Father. In the Christian community we promote the apostolate of caring for these people. We commend to the Lord particularly those who meet a violent and sudden death.

Uniting ourselves to the salvific will of God which extends to all, we offer friendship, help and the witness of charity to the sick of other religious faiths and to non-believers. While respecting freedom of conscience, we foster relations of mutual respect and cooperation with ministers of other denominations.

In its ministry, our Order shows a preference for the poorest and most forsaken of the sick and is solicitous in responding to their needs in developing nations and mission lands.

We regard the entire local community, in hospitals and health centers as our trust. Using every suitable means of the apostolate, we dedicate ourselves to the formation and Christian animation of health care workers, and we are a leaven of unity in their midst.

In carrying out our ministry, we take a human and pastoral interest in the families of the sick, in people in mourning, sharing their anxieties and supporting them by our solidarity.

Our Order is also keenly sensitive to pastoral care in health in ecclesiastical and civil institutions involved in the care of the sick and the poor, and is dedicated to animating the greatest possible number of lay people in loving and serving the sick.

We do our most to ensure that the person is placed at the center of attention in the health care world. We encourage society to promote the humanization of health care structures and services and to guarantee, in the best possible way, the rights of the sick and respect for their personal dignity, by means of legal, social, and political regulations.

The Church is missionary, and evangelization is the task of the whole people of God. Our Order assumes its role and becomes involved with its special charism in the range of missionary activities, faithful to the Lord’s command to heal the sick and preach the Gospel.

Our work is a part of the whole apostolic activity of the universal and local Churches. Therefore, in the exercise of our ministry, we cooperate with the local Ordinary, following his pastoral directives, and foster coordination and collaboration with other religious institutes, with the diocesan clergy, with the laity and with apostolic associations.

In order to respond adequately to the gift of God, our Order always and everywhere strives for fidelity to our charism and renewal of our ministry, while keeping in harmony with the spirit of the Founder and with the needs of inculturation. Thus, we promote, within the Order, community reflection, discernment, and cooperation among the confreres, communities and provinces.

Those who by reason of special office, age or illness are unable to exercise our ministry, are also members of the community in which they aspire to the same end, by generously committing themselves to the service of our brothers, through prayer, sacrifice and good will.

Confident of one day achieving the object of our hope, we recall in times of hardship and difficulty the words of Christ: “Come, blessed of my Father”, as well as the beatitudes of our Founder. (Constitutions 52-61)