Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop & Confessor
S. Caroli Borromeo Episcopi et Confessoris
Saint Charles Borromeo, Cardinal-Archbishop of Milan, was a tireless reformer and shepherd of souls, who spent himself in the renewal of the Church, the instruction of his people, and the care of the poor and the plague-stricken.
Saint Charles Borromeo was born in the year 1538 at the castle of Arona, on Lake Maggiore in northern Italy, of a noble family. Marked from his youth for the service of the Church, he pursued his studies and was made a Cardinal and Archbishop of Milan while still a young man, by his uncle, Pope Pius IV. To the high station to which he was raised he joined a holiness of life and a zeal for souls that made him one of the great pastors of his age.
A shepherd and reformer
Saint Charles is remembered above all for the part he took in the renewal of the Church in the sixteenth century. He laboured greatly at the closing sessions of the Council of Trent and in the carrying out of its decrees, and his diocese of Milan became a model of reform for the whole Church. He founded seminaries for the right formation of priests, gathered councils and synods, visited tirelessly the parishes of his vast diocese — even the most remote valleys of the Alps — and gave himself without rest to preaching, to teaching the faith, and to the correction of abuses. He is honoured as a patron of catechists, for he promoted the instruction of children and the simple in Christian doctrine with particular care.
His charity was as great as his zeal. He gave away his revenues to the poor and lived himself in austerity and penance. When a grievous plague struck Milan, while many fled the city, the Archbishop remained at his post, going among the sick and the dying, providing for their bodily and spiritual needs, and offering himself in prayer and penance for his afflicted people. In all things he sought not his own ease but the good of the flock entrusted to him, spending himself, as a true shepherd, for the sheep.
His holy death
Worn out by his unceasing labours and austerities, Saint Charles died at Milan on the night of the third to the fourth of November, 1584, at the age of forty-six. So great was the veneration in which he was held that he was canonised within a generation, in the year 1610. His memory remained dear to the Church of Milan and to the whole Church as a pattern of the reforming bishop and the devoted pastor.
The collect of his feast prays that the Church, under the continual protection of Saint Charles, may be kept safe, and that as his pastoral care made him glorious, so his intercession may make us ever fervent in the love of God. In him the Church honours a bishop who held nothing dearer than the salvation of souls and the glory of God.
The Collect
Safeguard thy Church, O Lord, by the continual protection of blessed Charles, thy Confessor and Bishop: that as his pastoral care made him glorious, so his intercession may ever make us fervent in thy love.
Ecclésiam tuam, Dómine, sancti Caróli Confessóris tui atque Pontíficis contínua protectióne custódi: ut, sicut illum pastorális sollicitúdo gloriósum réddidit; ita nos eius intercessióne in tuo semper fáciat amóre fervéntes.
Patronage
He is venerated as a patron of bishops, seminarians, and catechists, and is invoked for the renewal of the Church and against plague.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar his memorial is observed on the same day, 4 November.
Common Questions
When is the feast of Saint Charles Borromeo?
His feast is kept on 4 November in the calendar of the 1962 Roman Missal, as a Third Class feast, and likewise on 4 November in the modern calendar, where it is observed as a memorial. The date is unchanged.
Who was Saint Charles Borromeo?
He was an Italian Cardinal and Archbishop of Milan (1538–1584), one of the great pastors and reformers of the sixteenth century. He laboured at the Council of Trent and in the renewal of the Church, founded seminaries, promoted the teaching of the faith, and gave himself heroically to his people during a plague. He was canonised in 1610.
Why is he a patron of catechists?
Saint Charles took particular care for the instruction of children and the unlearned in Christian doctrine, promoting catechesis throughout his diocese as part of the renewal of the Church. From this zeal he is honoured as a patron of catechists and of seminarians.
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