Did you ever wonder where the Red Cross came from? Did you ever wonder who came up with the concept of the work to be done by the Red Cross, and the symbol of the Red Cross? Would you be surprised if we told you that it came to us through a Miracle of the Cross? Read on, brothers and sisters.
Over 450 years ago, a baby boy was born in a tiny village in the Abruzzi province of Italy. St. Camillus came into a world of position and wealth, his family being of the nobility. As his mother was well in her sixties, this was nothing short of miraculous; and so she excitedly awaited Camillus' arrival. But her joy was short-lived when she had a dream of giving birth to a baby boy with a cross on his chest. Not only that, in her dream, she saw him being followed by other children wearing the same cross. Highly superstitious, she feared this was a bad omen and some great disaster would befall her family. Her darkest fears were, he would become a leader of bandits and robbers. May 25th, 1550, his mother, Camilla went to Mass, as was her custom. But shortly after arriving in church, she began to experience labor pains. She was still so upset by her dream, she chose to give birth in a barn, thinking that if her child was born under the same circumstances as Our Lord and Savior, surely this would dispel any misfortune that was to come to pass. She was basically covering all her bases. A healthy boy was born and this boy, Camillus was to grow into a towering height of 6 feet 6 inches.
