Busacca Gallery

A Rare Antique Bronze Icon of St. Charles Borromeo Giving St. Aloysius His First Holy Communion, ca. 18th Century. Patinated cast bronze, rectangular shape depicting St. Aloysius, Patron Saint of Christian youth and plague victims, and St. Charles Borromeo accompanied by Archangels Gabriel and Michael; a coat-of-arms of the Duchy of Mantua under the Ducal crown is presented in the middle. Fit with a ring to hang. Measures approx. 4-3/8" x 2-3/4". Saint Aloysius (Luigi) Gonzaga (1568-1591) was a member of the illustrious House of Gonzaga and the oldest son of the Ferrante Gonzaga (1544–1586), Marquis of Castiglione. The Gonzaga family ruled Mantua in Northern Italy from 1328 to 1708. He was canonized in 1726 by Pope Benedict XIII. Condition: Wear to patina, light metal oxidation. Borromeo, was canonized in 1610, and his feast is celebrated on 4 November each year in the Roman Catholic Rite. People's devotion to Borromeo as a saint arose quickly and continued to grow. The Milanese celebrated his anniversary as though he were already canonized. Supporters collected documentation for his canonization. They began the process at Milan, Pavia, Bologna and other places. In 1602 Pope Paul V beatified Borromeo. In 1604 his case was sent on to the Congregation of Rites. On 1 November 1610, Paul V canonized Charles Borromeo. Three years later, the church added Borromeo's feast to the Roman Catholic calendar of saints for celebration on 4 November, which is still his feast. The position which Charles Borromeo held in Europe was indeed remarkable. He is venerated as a saint of learning and the arts. The mass of correspondence both to and by him testifies to the way in which his opinion was sought. The popes under whom he served sought his advice. The Catholic sovereigns of Europe: Henry III of France, Philip II of Spain, Mary, Queen of Scots and others showed how they valued his influence. His brother cardinals wrote in praise of his virtues. Cardinal Valerio of Verona said of him that Borromeo was "to the well-born a pattern of virtue, to his brother cardinals an example of true nobility." Cardinal Baronius styled him "a second Ambrose, whose early death, lamented by all good men, inflicted great loss on the Church."

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Charles_Borromeo

Saint Charles Borromeo (Italian: Carlo Borromeo, Latinized as Carolus Borromeus) (2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was a saint and cardinal. He worked during the period of the Counter-Reformation and was responsible for significant reforms in the Catholic Church, including the founding of seminaries for the education of priests. Borromeo was the nephew of Pope Pius IV. Along with Anselm of Lucca, he was one of only two cardinal-nephews to have been canonized.



The son of Gilberto II Borromeo, conte (count) of Arona, and Margherita de' Medici (sister of Pope Pius IV), Carlo Borromeo was born at the castle of Arona on the shores of Lago Maggiore in northern Italy. The aristocratic Borromeo family's coat of arms included the Borromean rings, sometimes taken to symbolize the Holy Trinity.

When Borromeo was about twelve years old, his uncle Giulio Cesare Borromeo, resigned to him an abbacy (the office and dignity of an abbot). Borromeo applied the revenue from this position in charity to the poor. He studied the civil and canon law at Pavia. In 1554 his father died, and although he had an elder brother, Count Federigo, he was requested by the family to take the management of their domestic affairs. After a time, he resumed his studies, and in 1559 he took his doctoral degree. In 1560 his uncle, Cardinal Angelo de' Medici, was raised to the pontificate as Pope Pius IV.

Pius IV named Borromeo as protonotary apostolic (secretary of state), entrusted with both the public and the privy seal of the ecclesiastical state. He then named Borromeo to the post of Cardinal of Romagna and the March of Ancona, and supervisor of the Franciscans, Carmelites and Knights of Malta.

At age twenty-two, Borromeo was highly trusted at the papal court. Soon afterwards the Pius IV raised him to the archbishopric of Milan. In compliance with the pope's desire, Borromeo lived in splendor to represent the glory of the church. He established an academy of learned persons, the Academy of the Vatican Nights, and published their memoirs as the Noctes Vaticanae.

About the same time, Borromeo founded and endowed a college at Pavia, today known as Almo Collegio Borromeo, which he dedicated to Saint Justina of Padua. On the death of his elder brother Federigo, his family urged Borromeo to quit the church to marry and have children, so that the family name would not become extinct.

Borromeo declined the proposal. He worked even harder for the welfare of the church. Owing to his influence over Pius IV, he facilitated the final deliberations of the Council of Trent. He took a large share in the creation of the Tridentine Catechism (Catechismus Romanus).





After the death of his uncle, Pius IV (1566), Borromeo contributed materially to suppressing the cabals of the conclave. Subsequently he devoted himself wholly to the reformation of his diocese. It had deteriorated in practice owing to the 80-year absence of previous archbishops. Borromeo made numerous pastoral visits, and restored dignity to divine service.

In conformity with the decrees of the Council of Trent, which suggested simplifying church interiors, Borromeo cleared the cathedral of ornate tombs, rich ornaments, banners, and arms. He did not even spare the monuments of his own relatives. He divided the nave of the church into two compartments to separate the sexes at worship.



He extended his reforms to the collegiate churches, monasteries and even to the Confraternities of Penitents, particularly that of St. John the Baptist. This group was to attend to prisoners and those condemned to death, to give them help and support.