The III General Chapter (15 April – 6 May 1602)

secondo capitolo generale camillianiBy the Superna disposizione, a Bull signed by Clement VIII on 29 December 1600, the juridical structure of the Order was further decided upon and the period of tension between its members on how to understand service in hospitals came to an end.

Camillus, substantially, obtained what he wanted, and his greatest aspiration was thus to put this into practice, with the taking on of complete services in new hospitals, in addition to that in Milan where his religious had already worked for five years.

However, according to the decrees of the II General Chapter every new initiative required the agreement of the members of the General Consulta,. To satisfy the Founder, the General Consulta decided to accept a hospital. The Hospital of St. Mary Nova in Florence. In the meantime, new houses were founded throughout Italy and Camillus won responsibility for complete assistance in various hospitals.

The discontent of the brothers, however, was on the increase and the Saint was called back to Rome for the III General Chapter which began on 1 April 1602.

There were 29 participants, of whom 20 were priests and 9 were brothers. Compared to the previous General Chapter, one notes a good presence of new figures (one half). Amongst others, Fr. Oppertis, Fr. Nigli and Fr. Cicatelli had already taken part.

It was presided over by Msgr. Leonardo Benaglia, prelate of the Congregation for Apostolic Reform, a delegate of Clement VIII. The Constitution drawn up by the General Consulta and approved by Msgr. Seneca, the common Rules, the penitential Canons and some decrees of the General Consulta of a general character, were revised and reorganised.

Camillus did everything to annul twelve Constitutions on the central government of the Order in which the agreement of the members of the General Consulta was required by the Superior General in certain circumstances.  He assured his audience that it was no longer appropriate to keep him so tied after he had obtained what he had wanted as regards complete service in hospitals. In the end, the Saint obtained what had been denied him by the General Chapter and outside it. As if by a spell and almost as a miracle, all of a sudden all opposition and difficulties were removed. His religious, with a holy fear of resisting him or rather won over by the love that they felt for him, recognised his special charismatic character as their Founder, and overcoming all human prudence, gave carte blanche to the ardour of his limitless charity.The procedure and the result of the last session were received very badly by Msgr. Benaglia because they were a denial, in practice, of what he had done in the General Chapter.