Name: Father Camillus Ellspermann, O.S.B.

How many years a priest? 55 years.

Residence: Casper, Wyoming.

Is Camillus your real name? It is my religious name. My Baptismal name was Leonard. My parents named me after Father Leonard Wernsing, my mother's confessor at St. Joseph Church in Evansville.

Tell us three things about yourself: I was the "meanest kid on Iowa Street” as a boy. My formation came "from the street" rather than from the formal institution of the Church, as my older priest-brother piously developed. I was able to shape up because of the loving patience of my family and later formation at St. Meinrad Minor Seminary.

Where and when were you born? I was born at 741 East Iowa St. in Evansville, just a short two blocks from the church. The Iowa/Virginia/Linwood neighborhood of working class families was ideal for growing up. There was a sense of identity among the larger families. My childhood, in retrospect could not have been better. In a family of seven boys, one older sister and two younger sisters, I was sixth in the family.  Now we children of Rosa and Carl Ellspermann know how fortunate we were. Like so many other families in the late ’20s and early ’30s in our neighborhood, we were poor but we did not know it because of the care of our parents. We had simple food but prepared so well by our mother. Today we children, the youngest now near 70, talk about the good days of our childhood and the simple meals our mother made from scratch and with so little, like bread pudding and sauce, and two egg-cake on Sunday evening. The only warm rooms in the house during the winter were the small bathroom and the kitchen with its coal cooking stove. We made our own games, mostly in the kitchen during the winter and outside with large numbers of kids in the neighborhood. In short, there was sacrificing love, which can be appreciated fully with passage of the years.

What is an early memory of church? My memories of church are merged with family, school and neighborhood. St. Joseph was an intimate and functional part of our lives.

What led you to the priesthood? The journey to priesthood was gradual while in high school and early college in the environment of the seminary with peers and teachers being very supportive. My classmates of '39-50 feel the same as I do and remember those happy and formative years. I was l9 years old when I made a serious decision to apply for admission to St. Meinrad Abbey and the priesthood.

What are your memories of the Great Depression? My memories of the Great Depression are many, but they are integrated with family life. I did not know there was a Depression during my early childhood until reading about it later as an adult. WPA, CCC, and other national programs were discussed much in my childhood. Paradoxically, my father who was a victim of the social and economic conditions of the time, was an ardent defender of that very system until his early death at the age of 52. So also I have found other victims with black lung disease, no retirement income, little Social Security, etc., defend the past practices (injustices) because "That is the way it was."

What are your memories of World War II? Memories of World War II are vivid but romantic. As a high school student in the boarding seminary we were isolated and sheltered, but with brothers and friends in service we had a personal appreciation of the war. My classmates in the seminary now recall that they shared a sense of guilt for not being in the military, although the war ended just after we were graduated early from high school. I agree with those who have written of those times as "the golden years of American manhood." The same good things could be said of our country and people. I remember vividly my classmates from St. Joseph telling me emphatically during our senior year in high school: "Len, you stay in the seminary and let us take care of the war." Some died. My dear friend Len Logel died on Iwo Jima shortly after he wrote me, "Remember the good old days, Len?"

Who was your hero or someone you looked up to as a child? The heroes of my childhood were the football players from Memorial High School and my older brothers.

Who is your hero now? My heroes now are married couples who are faithful to one another and to their children. It is so difficult to be good parents!

Where was your first job? My first job was working as an orderly in a 12-bed county ward at St. Mary's Hospital on First Avenue when I was 15 years old. I worked vacations until I entered the monastery in February of l945.  Because I worked with the sick most of my early life I took the name Camillus de Lellis, but that is another long story.

How long have you been in Wyoming? What do you like about the area where you are? I have worked in Wyoming for four years, two at Rock Springs in southwestern Wyoming and two years here in Casper in central Wyoming. Earlier I spent summers in Wyoming in Greybull, (1956) Cody and Yellowstone Park as chaplain (1962), Gillette and Jackson (1969), Worland for a month and again at Cody and Yellowstone about 10 years ago. During this time, I was teaching at St. Meinrad. What I like about Wyoming? Much! The honesty and directness of the people, the "rawboned" environment of the mountains and plains from which the people come and the appreciation of the people for their priests and the Church.

What are your hobbies? What do you do in your spare time? At my age there are few hobbies because of health. I like writing about the past, stories of my childhood and youth, and memories of my 55 years of priesthood. As a younger person I loved to walk long distances, engage in most sports and fish and camp out in the mountains with my nephews in the summer.

What do you like most about being Catholic? That is hard to answer, honestly. What I most like about serving the Church as a Catholic priest is people.

What is your favorite religious item? My favorite religious item is the crucifix.

Have you ever experienced a miracle or God's intervention in your life? I have never experienced a miracle of God's intervention in my life. But if you talk of His Constant Grace Presence you must talk of my parents, siblings and friends.

What's the best advice you can give someone else? The best advice that I can give anyone is to keep their integrity … that is be honest with self and God always.