BORROMEO, CHARLES, a celebrated Cardinal of the Romish church, whose piety and zeal for re formation, entitle him to the remembrance of poste rity. He was born at the castle of Arona, upon the Lago Maggiore, in October 1538, and was the son of Gilbert Borromeo, Count of Arona, and of Mary de Medicis. At the early age of twelve, he was ap-. pointed to an abbacy, which ltad been hereditary in the family ; but he accepted of this office merely that lie might apply the revenue which it yielded to cha ritable purposes ; and be afterwards refused to hold any new benefice, unless he was permitted to apply the income which it afforded to some benevolent or public use. After acquiring a knowledge of lan guages at Milan, and studying the canon and civil law at Pavia, he took his doctor's degree in 1559. In the following year, his uncle Pius IV. succeeded to theyontificate, and the highest prospects of prefer Ment were thus laid open to Borromeo. He was in vested with the dignities of cardinal nephew; arch bishop of Milan, legate of Ancona, Bologna, Ro magna, and protector of several crowns, and religious orders. Elevated to such dignities at an early period of life, and necessarily surrounded with a brilliant. train of attendants, we could scarcely have expected any of that humility and temperance with which Bor romeo was distinguished. The first use which he made of the high influence he possessed, was to in stitute an academy, composed both of laymen and, ecclesiastics, for the purpose of discussing liter ary topics, but particularly those which related to sa cred subjects. This society met in the Vatican, and hence the transactions which they published were en titled Nodes Vaticance.
After the council of Trent had issued its decrees for the reformation of the clergy, Borromeo devoted himself, with the utmost ardour, to carry into effect these important resolutions. He dismissed at once 80 of his domestics ; he abandoned the use of silk in his dress; and he began to reform the clergy, by increa sing the means of their education. With this view, he founded a college at Pavia, and a Jesuit's college at Milan, and he took a principal part in erecting a splendid building-for the university of Bologna.
Though strongly attached to the church of Rome, he was by no means blind to the vices and corrup tions which were undermining its foundation, and he set 'himself to carry through a system of reform, perhaps too extensive for the power and influence of a single individual.
He revived the pastoral visits in .Rome ; he gave decency to public worship, by a number of salutary regulations ; he cleared the cathedrals of those pom pous busts and ornaments with 'which they were dis figured; and lie began this unpopular work, by re moving the monuments of his nearest relations.
This system was soon extended from the cathe. I3 drals to the other churches, to the fraternities of peni tents, and even to the monasteries themselves, those fertile sources of every species of iniquity. In these salutary attempts he met with the most formidable opposition, which nothing but the most inflexible in tegrity could have surmounted. Even the civil power
began to regard such changes with a jealous eye, and, contrary to its strongest interests, to retard, by re monstrances and complaints, the completion of Bor. romeo's plans. This opposition, hov.ever, was not so overpowering as that which he met with from sever al of the religious orders. Three provosts of the or der of the Brothers of Humility, conspired against the life of the cardinal, and one of their confederates undertook the execution of their dark design. While Borromeo was performing his evening devotions in the archiepiscopal chapel of Milan, the assassin filPt1 a harquebuss at him, but he fortunately missed his aim, and the life of the venerable cardinal was preserved.
The plague, which visited Milan iu the year 1576, afforded a grand opportunity for the display of those great virtues which distinguished Borromeo. In pro. curing accommodation for the sick, in burrng the dead, and in making regulations for keepiog conta gion from those that were healthy, the good cardi nal exposed himselfto every danger, and even told his goods, in order to procure the means of relieving the distresses of his people.* Worn out with these labours, and by that abstemi ous severity which he prescribed to himself, Barr°. meo was seized with an intermittent fever while at a Place called the Sepulchre, on the mountain Varais. The violence of the disease permitted him, with dif., ficulty, to travel to Milan, where he expired the day after his arrival, on the 4th of Nwiember 1584, in the 47th year of his age. .
The sensations of true sorrow which were felt for the loss of this great man, extended beyond his own diocese to every corner of the province. He was immediately worshipped as a saint by the vulgar, though he was not regularly canonized till the year ]G10.
At a little distance from the town of Arona, to. wards the Boiromean islands, a colossal statue of brass has been erected In honour of Borromeo. It is placed On an eminence, very near a seminary for forty boys, founded by the cardinal. It is about 35 ells high, t and stands upon a pedestal about 25 ells in height. Borromeo is represented in the cardinal's habit, look ing towards Milan : he has a book under his left arm, and his right hand is extended, as if he were in the attitude of blessing the city. This statue was cast at Milan, and was brought to Arona in separate pieces. Keysler, however, says, that it consists of one single piece.
The writings of Borromeo were very numerous, and were collected in 5 vols. folio, and printed at Mi lan in 1747. His Ada Ecelesim illediolanensis was published in folio, in 1519. A life of Borro meo was published in the 17th century by Riba • deera, a Spanish Jesuit, which is filled with ridiculous fables respectin the miracles of the cardinal. Ano ther lire of him was published at Paris in 1781, in 3 j vols. 12mo., by the Abbe Touron. See Keysler's Travels, vol. i. let. xxxv. p. 373 ; and Coxe's Tra rels in Switzerland, vol. iii. let. xci. p. 314. (o)