Charles Borromée

Saint Charles Borromeo
Cardinal, Archbishop of Milan
Carlo Borromeo, by Giovanni Figino. Oil on canvas, 41 × 48 cm. Biblioteca Ambrosiana
Native name	Count Carlo Borromeo di Arona
Archdiocese	Milan
See	Milan, Italy
Appointed	12 May 1564
Term ended	3 November 1584
Predecessor	Giovanni Angelo de’ Medici
Successor	Gaspare Visconti
Other posts	Cardinal-Priest of Santa Prassede
Orders
Ordination	4 September 1563 by Federico Cesi
Consecration	7 December 1563 by Giovanni Serbelloni
Created Cardinal	31 January 1560 by Pius IV
Rank	Cardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born	(1538-10-02)2 October 1538 Castle of Arona, Duchy of Milan
Died	3 November 1584(1584-11-03) (aged 46) Milan
Buried	Milan Cathedral
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Parents	Gilberto Borromeo, 7th Count of Arona Margherita de' Medici di Marignano
Previous post	Administrator of Milan (1560-1564) Cardinal-Deacon of Santi Vito, Modesto e Crescenzia (1560) Cardinal-Deacon of Santi Silvestro e Martino ai Monti (1560–1563) Cardinal-Priest of Santi Silvestro e Martino ai Monti (1563–1564) Archpriest of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (1564–1572)
Coat of arms
Sainthood
Feast day	4 November
Venerated in	Catholic Church
Beatified	12 May 1602 by Clement VIII
Canonized	1 November 1610 by Paul V
Attributes	cord, red cardinal robes
Patronage	against ulcers; apple orchards; bishops; catechists; catechumens; colic; intestinal disorders; Lombardy, Italy; Monterey California; cardinals; seminarians; spiritual directors; spiritual leaders; starch makers; stomach diseases; São Carlos city in Brazil (as the name indicates)
Shrines	Milan Cathedral

Charles Borromeo (Italian: Carlo Borromeo, Latin: Carolus Borromeus, 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was Roman Catholic archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a cardinal. He was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation combat against the Protestant Reformation together with St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Philip Neri. In that role he was responsible for significant reforms in the Catholic Church, including the founding of seminaries for the education of priests. He is honored as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, with a feast day on November 4.

Charles was a descendant of nobility: the Borromeo family was one of the most ancient and wealthy in Lombardy, made famous by several notable men, both in the church and state. The family coat of arms included the Borromean rings, which are sometimes taken to symbolize the Holy Trinity. Charles' father Gilbert was Count of Arona. His mother Margaret was a member of the Milan branch of the House of Medici. The third son in a family of six children, he was born in the castle of Arona on Lake Maggiore 36 miles from Milan on 2 October 1538.

Borromeo received the tonsure when he was about twelve years old. At this time his paternal uncle Julius Caesar Borromeo, turned over to him the income from the rich Benedictine abbey of Sts. Gratinian and Felin, one of the ancient perquisites of the family. Charles made plain to his father that all revenues from the abbey beyond what was required to prepare him for a career in the Church belonged to the poor and could not be applied to secular use. The young man attended the University of Pavia, where he applied himself to the study of civil and canon law. Due to a slight impediment of speech, he was regarded as slow but his thoroughness and industry meant that he made rapid progress. In 1554 his father died, and although he had an elder brother, Count Federico, he was requested by the family to take the management of their domestic affairs. After a time, he resumed his studies, and on 6 December 1559 he earned a doctorate in utroque iure.