Care of poor arose from war

	St. Richard Pampuri When: 1897-1930 Where: Northern Italy What: Physician and religious brother Feast: May 1

Thirty-three years is a short time in which to make a mark, though that's all it took Jesus -- and St. Richard Pampuri, who in 1989 was canonized for his life of virtue as a doctor, friend of the poor and religious brother.

Richard, who was baptized Erminio, was three when his mother, Angela, died of tuberculosis and 10 when his father, Innocenzo, was killed in a car accident. The two deaths left his upbringing to his maternal grandparents and an aunt and uncle.

Erminio had long wanted to be a missionary priest, but ill health made that impossible. So he decided to follow the example of his Uncle Carlo, a village doctor.

His uncle paid for his education at Pavia University, where Richard attended daily Mass, became a lay Franciscan, and was active in the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and Catholic Action.

World War I interrupted his studies in 1917 when he was drafted into the Italian army medical corps, given minimal training and sent to a field hospital.

The brutality of war dismayed Erminio. He wrote: "What a stupid waste of human life. So many wounded, so many broken bodies!"

He soon earned respect for his care for patients. One colleague put it, "He was always very kind to the wounded soldiers, particularly those with the gravest wounds. He was always on hand to comfort them and was concerned that they should receive the Sacraments."

Whenever Erminio had time, he read the New Testament and the Imitation of Christ, which he always carried with him.

In 1920, he resumed his studies, graduating at the top of his class the next year, after completing course work in medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology.

At first, he practiced at a rural health clinic near Milan. He worked mainly among the poor, to whom he also gave money, food, clothing and blankets. He also was the secretary for the parish missionary society, and organized retreats for the laity and worked with youth.

Erminio, who saw his work as ministry, wrote to his sister, a missionary in Egypt: "I always see Jesus in my patients, so it is he whom I cure, comforting him who suffered and died to expiate our sins."

On June 22, 1927, at the advice of his spiritual director, he entered the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God, taking the name Richard. His superior put him in charge of the order's free dental clinic. He proved popular among patients, to whom he gave money and food, in addition to dental care.

But in August 1929, he came down with a lung disease -- a legacy of the war -- and died less than a year later.