St. Charles Borromeo

Their story

Charles Borromeo was born in 1538 into a powerful noble family near Lake Maggiore in northern Italy. When his uncle became Pope Pius IV, Charles, only twenty-two, was made a cardinal and given charge of the Archdiocese of Milan. He helped guide the final sessions of the Council of Trent and worked on the Roman Catechism, which taught the faith clearly in a time of confusion and reform. After the sudden death of his older brother, Charles took his own faith more seriously. He was ordained a priest, became archbishop, and moved to Milan to live among his people. There he set out to renew the Church: he opened seminaries to train good priests, organized classes to teach children and adults the faith, visited every parish, and lived simply, giving away much of his wealth. Some who resisted his reforms even tried to kill him. When plague struck Milan in 1576, many leaders fled. Charles stayed, caring for the sick and dying, organizing food for the hungry, and leading his people in prayer. Worn out by his labors, he died in 1584 at forty-six. He is a patron of catechists and catechumens.