Charles
Borromeo was born into a life
of wealth and high status. When
he was only 12 years old, his
uncle, who would later become
Pope Pius IV, gave him title to
valuable church properties. At
the age of 22 Charles was named
a cardinal!
When
Charles was 25, he made a
retreat based on the Spiritual
Exercises of St. Ignatius. He
experienced a deep change in
his spirit and began to live a
life of strict poverty. Soon he
became the bishop of Milan.
Living by the guidelines the
Council had created, Charles
became a kind and wise bishop.
Almost
no religious education existed
then, but Charles wanted
everyone, especially children,
to understand their faith. He
began the Confraternity of
Christian Doctrine and soon had
trained enough catechists to
teach 40,000 students.
Charles
Borromeo died at the age of 46.
He is a patron saint of
catechists and catechumens.
From
Companion to the Calendar,
M.E.Hynes
