Saint Borromeo, Gives Up Wealth to Become a Zealous Shepherd

November 4th is the Feast Day of Saint Charles Borromeo. He founded the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine and was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation together with Ignatius of Loyola and Philip Neri. He was responsible for significant reforms in the Catholic Church, including the founding of seminaries for the education of priests. He was canonized by Pope Paul V in 1610

On March 23 in 1564 Charles Borromeo received his pallium as Archbishop of Milan. He was not only the Cardinal/Archbishop of Milan but the most significant person of the Counter-pReformation. He is the patron saint of bishops, cardinals, seminarians, and spiritual leaders.


The Catholic Church honors Saint Borromeo for his holiness, love of God, piety, humility, and devotion. Many Catholic charity organizations, schools, and religious education efforts can trace their origins to St. Charles Borromeo.

You have heard it say: "Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
And “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me. Matthew Chapter 19

Saint Charles Borromeo was born to a wealthy family and his uncle, Pope Pius IV made Charles, aged 22, a Cardinal of the Church. A skeptic might say thar Charles becoming a Cardinal at such a young age, was purely nepotism. But recall Gamaliel, a Pharisee and teacher of the law, respected by all the people, ehen he stood up, said to the Sanhedrin, "For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself. But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them (The Apostles) you may even find yourselves fighting against God.” Acts Chapter 5





Education matters.
While Charles Borromeo was the second son of distinguished and wealthy parents, and seemed like a typical child - had friends, played the violin, went hunting and enjoyed his life - they raised him in an extremely religious atmosphere. When he was twelve, he was given tonsur - shaving the top of a priest or monk's head. This marked him for the priesthood and he was educated with that goal in mind.

Charles studied theology and also earned his degree in law at the University of Pavia in Milan. Because of his organizational and social skills, the Pope promoted Charles to the office of Secretary of State, the Cardinal Protector of several countries and of six religious orders as well as naming him Archbishop of Milan.


In 1562, Charles was appointed to help organize the upcoming Council of Trent. During this planning, Charles’ brother died. This event was life-changing as Charles was forced to look at the meaning and purpose of his life. He decided to reform the Church. He 1) rewrote the catechism 2) started reforms in the preparation of candidates for the priesthood; 3) ordered changes in the prayer book of the Church; and 4) asked the Pope to decree that political appointments could no longer be made in the Church. Many of these reforms, and others with which Charles is credited, grew out of the Council of Trent.




After the Council of Trent, back to Milan as full-time Archbishop, Charkes continued his work with the poor, caring for them in the streets when the plague hit Milan. His heroic behavior during the plague of 1576–78 won him much respect, as he gave away his wealth to feed the hungry and care for the sick in Milan. even saw that the curtains in his palace, his clothes and other possessions were turned into money for medicine for the poor. Charles, the Archbishop of Milan, was usually seen in rags. He taught catechism, found the sick and elderly places to stay, established schools and ran the diocese. He lived a life of prayer, slept little and ate less. He once said, “Here all kinds of poor will be housed, outsiders as well as Milanese; men, women, children because charity knows no distinction of nations, and we are all brothers and sisters in the Lord.”

Toward the end of October in the year 1584, Charles fell ill with a heavy fever and died a few days later.

Prayer to Saint Charles Borromeo

V. Pray for us, O glorious Saint Charles: R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray. Ever keep Thy Church, O Lord, we beseech Thee, under the protection of blessed Charles Thy Confessor and Bishop; that through the intercession of him who became glorious by his watchful care over his flock, we may ever burn with love for Thee. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ Thy Son, Who with Thee and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth, ever one God, world without end. R. Amen.

St. Charles Borromeo, the Rich Man Who Became a Saint

Selected Lenten Reflections, Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent:  St. Charles Borromeo

On this day, March 23 in 1564 Charles Borromeo received his pallium as Archbishop of Milan. He was not only the Cardinal/Archbishop of Milan but the most significant person of the Counter-Reformation. He is the patron saint of bishops, cardinals, seminarians, and spiritual leaders.

The Catholic Church honors Saint Borromeo for his holiness, love of God, piety, humility, and devotion. Many Catholic charity organizations, schools, and religious education efforts can trace their origins to St. Charles Borromeo.




You have heard it say: "Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
And “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me. Matthew Chapter 19

Saint Charles Borromeo was born to a wealthy family and his uncle, Pope Pius IV made Charles, aged 22, a Cardinal of the Church. A skeptic might say thar Charles becoming a Cardinal at such a young age, was purely nepotism. But recall Gamaliel, a Pharisee and teacher of the law, respected by all the people, ehen he stood up, said to the Sanhedrin, "For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself. But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them (The Apostles) you may even find yourselves fighting against God.” Acts Chapter 5

Education matters. 

While Charles Borromeo was the second son of distinguished and wealthy parents, and seemed like a typical child - had friends, played the violin, went hunting and enjoyed his life - they raised him in an extremely religious atmosphere. When he was twelve, he was given tonsur - shaving the top of a priest or monk's head. This marked him for the priesthood and he was educated with that goal in mind.

Charles studied theology and also earned his degree in law at the University of Pavia in Milan. Because of his organizational and social skills, the Pope promoted Charles to the office of Secretary of State, the Cardinal Protector of several countries and of six religious orders as well as naming him Archbishop of Milan.


In 1562, Charles was appointed to help organize the upcoming Council of Trent. During this planning, Charles’ brother died. This event was life-changing as Charles was forced to look at the meaning and purpose of his life. He decided to reform the Church. He 1) rewrote the catechism 2) started reforms in the preparation of candidates for the priesthood; 3) ordered changes in the prayer book of the Church; and 4) asked the Pope to decree that political appointments could no longer be made in the Church. Many of these reforms, and others with which Charles is credited, grew out of the Council of Trent.

After the Council of Trent, back to Milan as full-time Archbishop, Charkes continued his work with the poor, caring for them in the streets when the plague hit Milan. His heroic behavior during the plague of 1576–78 won him much respect, as he gave away his wealth to feed the hungry and care for the sick in Milan. even saw that the curtains in his palace, his clothes and other possessions were turned into money for medicine for the poor. Charles, the Archbishop of Milan, was usually seen in rags. He taught catechism, found the sick and elderly places to stay, established schools and ran the diocese. He lived a life of prayer, slept little and ate less. He once said, “Here all kinds of poor will be housed, outsiders as well as Milanese; men, women, children because charity knows no distinction of nations, and we are all brothers and sisters in the Lord.”

Toward the end of October in the year 1584, Charles fell ill with a heavy fever and died a few days later.

He was canonized by Pope Paul V in 1610

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February 26, 2024, Monday of the Second Week in Lent - Selected Reflections

"The only time our Lord asked the apostles for anything was the night He went into agony. Not for activity did he plead but for an hour of companionship." - Venerable Fulton J. Sheen

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Feast of Saint Anthony Zaccaria, Reformer and Promoter of the Eucharist

Saint Antonio Maria Zaccaria born 5 July 1502 ( died 1539) was an Italian Catholic priest and early leader of the Catholic Reformation, founder of the Barnabites and a promoter of the Passion of Christ, the Eucharist and the renewal of the religious life among laity.

The Catholic Reformation consists of reforms and movements within the Church in the periods immediately before Martin Luther and before the Council of Trent  (1545-1563.) The efforts grew out of criticism of the worldliness and corruption of the papacy and clergy during the Renaissance. Martin Luther used the Catholic Reformers' proposed reforms as a basis for  his attack on abuses in the Church.

Even before the official start of the Catholic Reformation, others like Saint Francis of Assisi were already making progress. While Francis never intended to found an order but when followers came to share his life, he saw it as the will of the Lord. In May 1209 went to Rome to see pope Innocent III. Innocent reigned at a time of remarkable corruption in the Church. Many bishops, priests and religious had become landed gentry, more concerned with their material possessions than fullfiling their pastoral responsibilities. Most of the clergy were poorly educated in the faith and rarely preached, and many were given to lives of debauchery.

At the same time that Martin Luther was attacking abuses in the Church, a reformation within the Church was already being attempted. Among the early movers of the Counter-Reformation was Anthony Zaccaria.  He received a medical doctorate at 22, and while working among the poor of his native Cremona in Italy, was attracted to the religious apostolate. He renounced his rights to any future inheritance, worked as a catechist, and was ordained a priest at the age of 26. Called to Milan in a few years, he laid the foundations of three religious congregations, one for men, one for women, and an association of married couples. Their aim was the reform of the decadent society of their day, beginning with the clergy, religious, and lay people.

Anthony encouraged such innovations as the collaboration of the laity in the apostolate, frequent Communion, the Forty Hours devotion, and the ringing of church bells at 3:00 p.m. on Fridays. His holiness moved many to reform their lives, but as with all saints, it also moved many to oppose him. Twice his community had to undergo official religious investigation, and twice it was exonerated.

Paul III was the first pope to respond to attacks of abuse in the church.

convening the important Council of Trent (1545–63), described as the embodiment of the Counter-Reformation and used in part to address the challenges of the Protestant Reformations

 The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort arising from the decrees of the Council of Trent. The effort produced apologetic and polemical documents, heresy trials, anti-corruption efforts, spiritual movements, the promotion of new religious orders, and the flourishing of new art and musical styles.

Such reforms included the foundation of seminaries for the proper training of priests in the spiritual life and the theological traditions of the Church, the reform of religious life by returning orders to their spiritual foundations, and new spiritual movements focusing on the devotional life and a personal relationship with Christ, including the Spanish mystics and the French school of spirituality.

Among the most influential reforming figures of the Counter-Reformation included Pius V, Gregory XIII, and Sixtus V. Saints Charles Borromeo, Philip Neri, John of the Cross, Teresa of Ávila, Francis de Sales, and Vincent de Paul

Prayer to Saint Anthony Zaccaria 

Saint Anthony Zaccaria, helper of the poor and the sick, you who devoted your life to our spiritual welfare, listen to my humble and hopeful prayer.

Continue your work as doctor and priest

by obtaining from God healing from my physical and moral sickness, so that free from all evil and sin, I may love the LORD with joy,.fulfill with fidelity my duties,

work generously for the good of my brothers and sisters, and for my sanctification.

Amen.