CrucisSt. Charles Borromeo
St. Charles Borromeo was born on 2 October 1538 into a noble family at Arona on Lake Maggiore, Italy, and died on 3 November 1584 at Milan. Nephew of Pope Pius IV, he was raised to the cardinalate and given great responsibilities in Rome while still a young man. Rather than enjoy his privileged position, he became a driving force in bringing the Council of Trent to its successful conclusion and in carrying out its reforms, helping to produce the Roman Catechism.
As archbishop of Milan he became the very model of a reforming bishop of the Catholic (Counter-)Reformation: he founded seminaries for the proper training of priests, held councils and visitations, catechized the young, and enforced discipline among clergy and laity alike. During the plague of 1576 he stayed in the city to feed and tend the sick when many officials had fled, ministering to the dying in person. Renowned for his austerity and charity, he was canonized in 1610.
Selected quotes
“The plague did not frighten me — for what can death do to a man who has already died to himself?”
“The shepherd who flees when the wolf comes was never truly a shepherd at all.”
“Charity to the plague-stricken is not recklessness; it is the ordinary duty of a shepherd.”