St. Charles Borromeo Prayer Card (PC-55)

PC-55 — St. Charles Borromeo Prayer Card

The reformer who saved the Council of Trent — and then went home to live it

Born October 2, 1538, into one of the most powerful noble families in northern Italy — his mother was a Medici, his uncle would become Pope Pius IV — Charles Borromeo had every worldly advantage and every temptation to use the Church as a vehicle for personal advancement, as so many of his contemporaries did. He chose a different path. When his uncle made him a cardinal and Secretary of State at twenty-two, still a layman, Charles could have enjoyed the prestige and walked away. When his brother died and his family urged him to leave the Church, inherit the family title, and marry, he could have done that too. Instead, at each crossroads, he chose more. More God. More poverty. More service. More reform.

Working behind the scenes, St. Charles deserves the credit for keeping the Council of Trent in session when at several points it was on the verge of breaking up. When the Council finally concluded in 1563 — after eighteen years of sessions — it fell to Borromeo to implement its decrees. He helped produce the Roman Catechism. He reformed seminaries, monasteries, and liturgical practice. He was ordained a priest at twenty-five, consecrated a bishop three months later, and appointed Archbishop of Milan — a diocese of more than 800,000 souls and 3,000 clergy that had not had a resident archbishop in eighty years, and where corruption had flourished in that vacuum.

What he found in Milan was formidable. What he did about it was more so. He held provincial councils and pastoral visitations, reformed religious orders, established schools, founded seminaries, and demanded that his clergy live the Gospel they preached — beginning always with himself. His episcopal motto was a single word: Humilitas. He lived it. He gave away his income. He slept little, ate less, and was often seen in rags. During the plague and famine of 1576, he tried to feed 60,000 to 70,000 people daily, borrowing enormous sums that took years to repay, while civil authorities fled the city. He survived an assassination attempt by a corrupt religious faction and continued his work without slowing down. He died on November 3, 1584, at forty-six years old — worn out by labor and love.

He was canonized by Pope Paul V in 1610. He is the patron saint of bishops, cardinals, seminarians, catechists, and spiritual leaders. His feast day is November 4th. His reforming spirit — the conviction that the renewal of the Church begins with the renewal of those who lead her — remains as urgently needed today as it was in the sixteenth century.

Perfect for: Seminarians, priests, bishops, catechists, November 4th feast day, Catholic school communities, spiritual directors, anyone praying for the renewal of the Church, and all who are called to lead.