St. Charles Borromeo was an Italian saint who lived in the 1500s. He was an archbishop of Milan, and he was a cardinal. 

St. Charles Borremeo was also a significant figure in Church reform at the time. He was well-known for the work of reform that he undertook together with St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Philip Neri.

St. Charles Borromeo was born in 1538. His parents were both members of the nobility, and he had five siblings. 

Though he was a count by birth, Charles chose to dedicate his life to serving the Church at age twelve. When a family member gave him a large sum of money, he insisted on keeping only as much as he needed for his education and giving the rest to the poor.

Charles suffered from a severe speech impediment in his youth. Despite appearing unintelligent, he made great progress in his studies. He impressed his teachers with his hard work and thoroughness.

When Charles was in his teen years, his father died. In 1559, his uncle became Pope Pius IV. The new Pope asked Charles to come to Rome, and he appointed Charles a cardinal-deacon. In this role, Charles advised and assisted the Pope.
A month after this when Charles was just twenty-three years old, the Pope made him a cardinal. As a cardinal, Charles gained many new responsibilities. He also used his new leadership role to promote learning.

Charles was made administrator of the Milan archdiocese in 1560. He soon realized that God was calling him to the priesthood.

When Charles’ brother died in 1562, his family members tried to persuade him to leave his vocation in order to carry on the family name. Charles refused and instead became more devoted to his work in the Church.

Charles was soon ordained a deacon, then a priest and finally a bishop. He became archbishop of Milan in 1564.

By the time his uncle Pope Pius IV died in 1566, Charles had already established a reputation as a reformer. He continued his work of reforming in Milan. Milan was the largest diocese in the entire Church and it suffered from a lot of corruption at the time.

As the Protestant Reformation continued spreading throughout northern Europe, Charles saw that the Church’s best defense was internal reform. He was eager to give the clergy a stronger education. He established new schools and seminaries for better education of the clergy.

Charles worked to end simony and oversaw reformation in monasteries. He also worked to enforce the simplification of Church interiors that the Council of Trent had ordered.

Charles’ work of reformation made him enemies. On one occasion, one of his enemies attempted to assassinate him. Others lodged complaints against him within the Church. Charles saw these enemies as evidence that his efforts of reformation were beginning to work.

When a famine struck his country in 1576, Charles used his own money to feed his people. When his money ran out, he took out loans to continue feeding them. 
In 1583, Charles traveled to Switzerland to work fighting heresy there.
In 1584, Charles contracted a fever. His condition worsened until he died in November of 1584, at age forty-six.

His Feast Day is November 4th