Saint Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop

Charles Borromeo (Italian: Carlo Borromeo; Latin: Carolus Borromeus; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was an Italian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584. He was made a cardinal in 1560. Borromeo founded the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine and was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation together with Ignatius of Loyola and Philip Neri. In that role, he was responsible for significant reforms in the Catholic Church, including the founding of seminaries for the education of priests. He was canonized in 1610 and his feast day is 4 November. Borromeo was a descendant of nobility; the Borromeo family was one of the most ancient and wealthiest in Lombardy, made famous by several notable men, both in the church and state. The family coat of arms included the Borromean rings, which are sometimes taken to symbolize the Holy Trinity. Borromeo's father, Gilbert, was Count of Arona. His mother, Margaret, was a member of the Milanese branch of the House of Medici. The second son in a family of six children, he was born in the castle of Arona on Lake Maggiore 36 miles from Milan on 2 October 1538. Borromeo received the tonsure when he was about twelve years old. At this time, his paternal uncle Giulio Cesare Borromeo turned over to him the income from the rich Benedictine abbey of Sts. Gratinian and Felin, one of the ancient perquisites of the family. Borromeo made plain to his father that all revenues from the abbey beyond what was required to prepare him for a career in the church belonged to the poor and could 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 speech impediment, he was regarded as slow, but his thoroughness and industry meant that he made rapid progress. In 1554, his father died, and although he had an elder brother, Count Federico, he was requested by the family to take the management of their domestic affairs.