St. Charles Borromeo
Bishop, Patron of Catechists and Seminarians
Feast day – November 04
The name of St. Charles Borromeo is associated with reform.
He lived during the time of the Protestant Reformation, and had a hand in the
reform of the whole Church during the final years of the Council of Trent.
Although he belonged to a noble Milanese family and was related to the powerful
Medici family, he desired to devote himself to the Church. When his uncle,
Cardinal de Medici, was elected pope in 1559 as Pius IV, he made Charles
cardinal-deacon and administrator of the Archdiocese of Milan while he was
still a layman and a young student. Because of his intellectual qualities he
was entrusted with several important offices connected with the Vatican and
later appointed secretary of state with full charge of the administration of
the papal states.
The untimely death of his elder brother brought Charles to a
definite decision to be ordained a priest, despite relatives’ insistence that
he marry. He was ordained a priest at the age of 25, and soon afterward he was
consecrated bishop of Milan. Because of his work at the Council of Trent he was
not allowed to take up residence in Milan until the Council was over. Charles
had encouraged the pope to renew the Council in 1562 after it had been
suspended 10 years before. Working behind the scenes, St. Charles deserves the
credit for keeping the Council in session when at several points it was on the
verge of breaking up. He took upon himself the task of the entire
correspondence during the final phase. Eventually Charles was allowed to devote
his time to the Archdiocese of Milan, where the religious and moral picture was
far from bright.
The reform needed in every phase of Catholic life among both
clergy and laity was initiated at the provincial council of all his suffragan
bishops. Specific regulations were drawn up for bishops and other clergy: If
the people were to be converted to a better life, these had to be the first to
give a good example and renew their apostolic spirit. Charles took the
initiative in giving good example. He allotted most of his income to charity,
forbade himself all luxury and imposed severe penances upon himself. He
sacrificed wealth, high honours, esteem and influence to become poor. During
the plague and famine of 1576 he tried to feed 60,000 to 70,000 people daily.
To do this he borrowed large sums of money that required years to repay. When
the civil authorities fled at the height of the plague, he stayed in the city,
where he ministered to the sick and the dying, helping those in want. Work and
the heavy burdens of his high office began to affect his health. He died at the
age of 46.
St. Charles made his own the words of Christ: "...I was
hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger
and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in
prison and you visited me" (Matthew 25:35-36). Charles saw Christ in his
neighbour and knew that charity done for the least of his flock was charity
done for Christ. "Christ summons the Church, as she goes her pilgrim way,
to that continual reformation of which she always has need, insofar as she is
an institution of men here on earth. Consequently, if, in various times and
circumstances, there have been deficiencies in moral conduct or in Church
discipline, or even in the way that Church teaching has been formulated — to be
carefully distinguished from the deposit of faith itself — these should be set
right at the opportune moment and in the proper way" (Decree on
Ecumenism, 6, Austin Flannery translation).
Sources for this article were taken from: AmericanCatholic.org
Prayer
(of St. Charles Borromeo)
Almighty God, you have generously made known to
human beings the mysteries of
your life through Jesus Christ your Son in the Holy
Spirit.
Enlighten my mind to know these mysteries which your
Church treasures and
teaches.
Move my heart to love them and my will to live in
accord with them.
Give me the ability to teach this Faith to others
without pride, without
ostentation, and without personal gain.
Let me realize that I am simply your instrument for
bringing others to the
knowledge of the wonderful things you have done for
all your creatures.
Help me to be faithful to this task that you have entrusted to me.
Amen.
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