St. Charles Borromeo Medal and Necklace

Sterling Silver St. Charles Borromeo Medal and Necklace

14KT Gold Filled St. Charles Borromeo Medal and Necklace

14KT Gold St Charles Borromeo Medal

St. Charles Borromeo

In October, 1538. at Arona, on the shores of Lake Maggiore, Charles first saw the light of day. His ancestors had been eminent in Church and State. His father, Count Gilbert Borromeo, possessed great piety and rare diplomatic ability. It was from him that Charles learned his love of prayer and tender solicitude for the poor. The mother of St. Charles, Margaret de Medici, sister of Cardinal de Medici, afterwards Pope Pius IV, was a worthy wife of the Count, both by nobility of family and the practice of virtue.

From early youth Charles showed an unusual gravity and love of solitude; his timr was spent in altars to Our Lady and in singing psalms. His father convinced of the boy’s vocation, permitted him to receive the tonsure and to wear the cassock when quite young, as was the custom in those days. Determined that he should receive a fitting education, Charles was sent to Milan to pursue his studies. One of his masters remarked “this young man; he will one day be the reform of the Church and will do wonderful things”.

From Milan Charles went to Pavia to complete his studies. At the age of twenty-two he earned his Doctor’s degree. During these years of study his father died and the care of the family devolved upon his young shoulders. The death of Pope Paul IV and the election of Cardinal de Medici, in 1559, was the dawn of a glorious future for the two young nephews of the new Pontiff, Pius IV.

Service to the Pope

Pope Pius IV, recognizing and appreciating the extraordinary talents and sanctity of Charles, he desired to employ him in the service of the Church. Charles was at once created a Cardinal Deacon and entrusted with many high offices at the Vatican, besides being made Administrator of the See of Milan. His rare intellectual qualities soon led the Pope to make him his Secretary of State.

after he was made Cardinal-Priest he was consecrated Bishop. He lived a life of penance and prayer, faithfully visiting his Diocese and scrupulously employing his revenues for the good of the Church and of the poor. During a terrible famine in Milan, the Saint exerted himself to the utmost to keep his poor from starvation. For three months he fed over three thousand people at his own expense, and having rendered himself penniless collected alms from all quarters. “Charity”, he said, “should know no bounds, neither therefore must almsgiving.”

His devotedness to his flock during the Great Plague of 1576 caused him to be revered by the Milanese. Much of the success of the Council of Trent is due to his indefatigable labors in the cause of reform. Many were the hospitals, houses of mercy, homes of refuge, and other similar institutions established by the Cardinal, and, in many cases, maintained at his own expense. On November 4, 1584, surrounded by his confessor and many Priests, whose weeping rendered their pious utterances unintelligible, St. Charles gave them his blessing, and in the greatest peace breathed out his soul into the hands of God. His body was enshrined under the High Altar of the Cathedral, and the canonization took place in 1610

St. Charles Borromeo Rosary
UPC: 617759856613
Brand: Bliss