Charles Borromeo

Charles Borromeo For the Indian sprinter, see Charles Borromeo (athlete). not be applied to secular use. The young man attended the University of Pavia, where he applied himself to the study of civil and canon law. Due to a slight impediment Charles Borromeo (Italian: Carlo Borromeo, Latin: of speech, he was regarded as slow; yet his thoroughness Carolus Borromeus, 1538–1584) was the cardinal and industry more than compensated for the handicap.[2] archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584. Among the great reformers of the troubled sixteenth century, Borromeo, In 1554 his father died, and although he had an elder with St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Philip Neri, and others, brother, Count Federico, he was requested by the family led the movement to combat the inroads of the Protes- to take the management of their domestic affairs. After tant Reformation. He was a leading figure during the a time, he resumed his studies, and on December 6, 1559 Counter-Reformation and was responsible for significant he earned a doctorate in utroque iure (Canon and Civil reforms in the Catholic Church, including the founding of Law). seminaries for the education of priests. He is honoured as a saint in the Catholic Church and his feast day is 4 November. 3 Rome period 1 Sources On December 25, 1559, his uncle, Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Medici, was raised to the pontificate as Pope Pius IV. The new elected pope required his nephew Charles Borromeo’s biography was originally written by three of Borromeo to come to Rome, and on January 13, 1560 ap- his contemporaries: Agostino Valerio (afterwards Cardi- pointed him protonotary apostolic.[3] Shortly thereafter, nal and Bishop of Verona) and Carlo Bascape (General on January 31, 1560, the Pope created him Cardinal, of the Barnabites, afterwards Bishop of Novara), who and thus Charles Borromeo as Cardinal-nephew was en- wrote their contributions in Latin, and Pietro Giussanno trusted with both the public and the privy seal of the ec- (a priest), who wrote his in Italian. Father Giussanno’s clesiastical state.[4] He was also entrusted in the govern- [1] account was the most detailed of the three. ment of the Papal States and appointed supervisor of the Franciscans, Carmelites and Knights of Malta. During his four years in Rome Charles Borromeo lived 2 Early life in austerity, compelled the personnel in the Roman Cu- ria to wear black and established an academy of learned Borromeo was a descendent of nobility: the family of persons, the Academy of the Vatican Nights, publishing Borromeo was one of the most ancient and wealthy in their memoirs as the Noctes Vaticanae.[5] Lombardy, made famous by several notable men, both in [1] Charles committed to organize the third and last section the church and state. The aristocratic Borromeo fam- of the Council of Trent, in 1562-63. He took a large ily's coat of arms included the Borromean rings, some- share in the creation of the Tridentine Catechism (Cat- times taken to symbolize the Holy Trinity. echismus Romanus). In 1561, Borromeo founded and en- Borromeo’s father Gilbert was Count of Arona; his dowed a college at Pavia, today known as Almo Collegio mother Margaret was a member of the Milan branch of Borromeo, which he dedicated to Saint Justina of Padua. the House of Medici. The third son in a family of six chil- On November 19, 1562, his older brother, Federico, sud- dren, he was born in the castle of Arona on Lake Mag- [2] denly died. His family urged Charles to quit the church to giore, thirty-six miles from Milan, on October 2, 1538. marry and have children, so that the family name would Borromeo received the tonsure when he was about twelve not become extinct, but he decided not to leave the ec- years old. At this time his paternal uncle, Julius Caesar clesiastic state.[6] His brother’s death, along with his con- Borromeo, turned over to him the income from the rich tacts with the Jesuits and the Theatines and the example Benedictine abbey of Sts. Gratinian and Felin, one of of bishops such as Bartholomew of Braga, were the causes the ancient perquisites of this noble family. In spite of of a conversion of Charles towards a more strict and oper- his youth, Carlo made plain to his father that all revenues ative Christian life, and his aim became to put into prac- from the abbey beyond what was required to prepare him tice the dignity and duties of the bishop as drafted by the for a career in the Church belonged to the poor and could recent Council of Trent.[5] 1 2 4 ARCHBISHOP OF MILAN 4 Archbishop of Milan ornate tombs, rich ornaments, banners, and arms. He did not even spare the monuments of his own relatives. He Charles Borromeo was appointed Administrator of the divided the nave of the church into two compartments to Archdiocese of Milan on February 7, 1560. After his de- separate the sexes at worship. cision to put into practice the role of bishop, he decided to He extended his reforms to the collegiate churches, be ordained Priest (September 4, 1563) and on December monasteries and even to the Confraternities of Penitents, 7, 1563 he was consecrated bishop in the Sistine Chapel particularly that of St. John the Baptist. This group was by Cardinal Giovanni Serbelloni.[7] Charles was formally to attend to prisoners and those condemned to death, to appointed archbishop of Milan on May 12, 1564 after the give them help and support. former archbishop Ippolito II d'Este waived his claims on Borromeo believed that abuses in the church arose from that archbishopric, but he was only allowed by the Pope to ignorant clergy. Among his most important actions, he leave Rome one year later: Charles Borromeo made his established seminaries, colleges and communities for the formal entry in Milan as archbishop on September 23, education of candidates for holy orders.[10] His emphasis 1565.[6] on Catholic learning greatly increased the preparation of men for priesthood and benefited their congregations. In 4.1 Reform Program (Acta Ecclesiae addition, Borromeo founded the fraternity of Oblates of Mediolanensis) St. Ambrose, a society of secular men who did not take orders, but devoted themselves to the church and followed a discipline of monastic prayers and study. They provided assistance to parishes where ordered by the church.[9] The new archbishop’s efforts for catechesis and the instruction of youth were especially fruitful, initiating the work of the Confraternity for Christian Doctrine and the first “Sunday School” classes. His reforms of the diocese, in accordance with the de- crees of the council, were dramatic and effective. Bor- romeo faced staunch opposition of several religious orders, particularly that of the Humiliati (Brothers of Hu- mility), a decayed penitential order which, although re- duced to about 170 members, owned some ninety monas- Intercession of Charles Borromeo supported by the Virgin Mary teries. Some members of that society formed a con- by Rottmayr (Karlskirche, Vienna) spiracy against his life, and a shot was fired at him in the archiepiscopal chapel. His survival was considered After the death of his uncle, Pius IV (1566), Borromeo miraculous.[10] contributed materially to suppressing the cabals of the In 1576 there was famine at Milan due to crop failures, conclave. Before Borromeo went to Milan, while he was and later came an outbreak of the plague. The city’s trade overseeing reform in Rome, a nobleman remarked that fell off, and along with it the people’s source of income. the latter city was no longer a place to enjoy oneself or The governor and many members of the nobility fled the to make a fortune. “Carlo Borromeo has undertaken to city, but the bishop remained, to organize the care of remake the city from top to bottom,” he said, predicting those who were stricken and to minister to the dying. He dryly that the reformer’s enthusiasm “would lead him to called together the superiors of all the religious communi- correct the rest of the world once he has finished with ties in the diocese, and won their cooperation. Borromeo Rome.”[8] tried to feed 60,000 to 70,000 people daily. He used up Subsequently he devoted himself wholly to the reforma- his own funds and went into debt to provide food for the tion of his diocese. It had deteriorated in practice ow- hungry. Finally he wrote to the governor, and shamed ing to the 80-year absence of previous archbishops.[9] him into coming back to his post.[2][4] When Borromeo arrived in Milan, he faced a daunting Borromeo had also been involved in English affairs when task. Milan was the largest archdiocese in Italy at the he assisted Pius IV. Many English Catholics had fled to time, with more than 3,000 clergy and 800,000 people. Italy at this time because of the persecutions under Queen Both its clergy and laity had drifted from church teach- Elizabeth. He gave important pastoral attention to En- ing. The selling of indulgences and ecclesiastical posi- glish Catholics who fled to Italy to escape the new laws tions was prevalent; monasteries were “full of disorder"; against the Catholic faith.[10] Saint Edmund Campion, a many religious were “lazy, ignorant, and debauched”.[8] Jesuit, along with Saint Ralph Sherwin visited Borromeo Borromeo made numerous pastoral visits, and restored at Milan in 1580 on their way to England. They stayed dignity to divine service. In conformity with the de- with Borromeo for eight days, talking at length with him crees of the Council of Trent, which suggested simplify- every night after dinner.

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