St. Charles was the son of
Count Gilbert Borromeo and Margaret Medici, sister of Pope Pius IV. He was born
at the family castle of Arona on Lake Maggiore, Italy on October 2, 1538. He
received the clerical tonsure when he was twelve and was sent to a Benedictine
abbey at Arona for his education. In 1559 his uncle
was elected Pope Pius IV and the following year, named him his Secretary of
State and created him a cardinal and administrator of the see of Milan. He
served as Pius' legate on numerous diplomatic missions and in 1562, was
instrumental in having Pius reconvene the Council of Trent, which had been suspended
in 1552. Charles played a leading role in guiding and in fashioning the decrees
of the third and last group of sessions. He was consecrated bishop of Milan the
same year. Before being allowed to take possession of his see, he oversaw the
catechism, missal, and breviary called for by the Council of Trent.
When he finally did arrive at Trent (which had been without a
resident bishop for eighty years) in 1556, he instituted radical reforms
despite great opposition, with such effectiveness that it became a model see.
He put into effect, measures to improve the morals and manners of the clergy
and laity, raised the effectiveness of the diocese, established seminaries for
the education of the clergy, founded a Confraternity of Christian Doctrine for
the religious instruction of children and encouraged the Jesuits to be more
visible and active. He increased the systems to the poor and the needy, and
during his bishopric held eleven diocesan synods and six provincial councils.
He founded a society of secular priests, Oblates of St. Ambrose (now Oblates of
St. Charles) in 1578, and was active in preaching, resisting the inroads of
Protestantism, and bringing back lapsed Catholics to the Church. He encountered
opposition from many sources in his efforts to reform people and institutions. He died at Milan on the night of November 3-4,
1584 and was canonized in 1610. He was one of the towering figures of the
Catholic Reformation, a patron of learning and the arts, and though he achieved
a position of great power, he used it with humility, personal sanctity, and
unselfishness to reform the Church, of the evils and abuses so prevalent among
the clergy and the nobles of the times.
Thursday 4 November 2021
St Charles Borromeo
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