‹ The Bishops
Counter-Reformation · Saint
St Charles Borromeo
Archbishop of Milan
ReformerConfessor
1538 – 1584
1563
Ordained
1563
Consecrated Bishop
Milan
Diocese
Italy
Country
The Life
Born in 1538 to a noble family of the Duchy of Milan, Charles Borromeo was made a cardinal by his uncle Pope Pius IV in 1560 and played a decisive role in reconvening and concluding the Council of Trent. He was a principal architect of the Counter-Reformation.
As Archbishop of Milan from 1564, he became the model of the reforming Tridentine bishop — founding seminaries, holding synods, visiting parishes, and ministering heroically to the sick during the plague of 1576. He was canonized in 1610 and is the patron of bishops and seminarians.
Notable Actions
- Helped reconvene and successfully close the final sessions of the Council of Trent (1562-63)
- Oversaw the Roman Catechism (Catechism of the Council of Trent) and reform of the liturgical books
- Founded seminaries to carry out Trent's decree on clerical formation
- As Archbishop of Milan, held provincial councils and rigorous pastoral visitations
- Ministered personally to plague victims at Milan in 1576; canonized by Paul V in 1610
Portrait: Giovanni Ambrogio Figino / Wikimedia Commons