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The Clerci Regulari Ministeri Infirmaribus (Clerics Regular, Ministers to the Sick) or the Camillians, as they are more commonly known, are a Roman Catholic religious Order founded in 1582 by Saint Camillus de Lellis. A large red cross worn as a distinguishing badge for members to wear upon their black cassocks was later adopted as an international symbol of medical care used by the International Red Cross. Having spent part of his early adult life as a soldier, Camillus de Lellis had sustained a leg wound that wouldn't heal, and was considered incurable. He sought admission to the Capuchin Religious Order, and was accepted as a candidate. Assigned to take up residence in a hospital dedicated to the care of the incurably ill, he noticed the poor care given to these patients. In time, he established the Order of Clerics Regular, Ministers to the Sick, who were charged with providing care for the sick, and to soldiers on the battlefield. The Order was approved by Pope Sixtus V in 1586, and Pope Gregory XIV gave them the status of an Order in 1591. Members of the Order also devoted themselves to the care of victims of the bubonic plague, and supernatural healings associated with his care of these victims later led to his canonization as a saint. The Order has provided care to patients with leprosy, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS, as well as to victims of war. In 2006, the Order of Clerks Regular, Ministers to the Sick were divided into Ecclesiastical Provinces, which are the main level of geographical jurisdictions, some of which have Delegations or Foundations in other continents, with Europe divided into eleven Provinces and four Foundations, Asia with one Province, three Delegations and Four Foundations, Africa into two Delegations and five Foundations, Australia into one Delegation, and North America into one Province and one Foundation. The Order's work is largely among the poor, in developing countries, or in disaster areas.

 

 

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