Feast of St. Charles Borromeo
Knights of Columbus Mid-Year Meeting
Denver, Colorado
November 4, 2023
Introduction
While still serving as the Archbishop of Milan, Cardinal Montini, the future Pope Paul VI, visited Baltimore’s newly built cathedral. It is said that the Cardinal paused for a long time in prayer before an altar there dedicated to his predecessor in Milan, St. Charles Borromeo. The image of St. Charles Borromeo above that altar is striking. It captures something of his poverty, simplicity, and zeal for reform.
Inevitability
This great saint’s life might not have turned out that way. Charles Borromeo was the nephew of a Renaissance Pope, Paul IV, a Medici Pope who presided over a splendidly opulent court. His uncle appointed him Archbishop of Milan while he was still in his 20’s, a major Archdiocese that had been without a bishop for 80 years. Charles himself came from a prominent and wealthy family and he was sent to a wealthy place which, then as now, was a center of commerce. All this has the makings of yet another story of corruption in the Renaissance Church. But that outcome was not inevitable. It turned out very differently.
Young as he was, Charles Borromeo proved himself a truly good shepherd. He eschewed wealth, comfort, and prestige, and instead devoted himself to the renewal of the Church’s life, both in the Archdiocese of Milan and during the third session of the Council of Trent. Unlike many bishops of his day, he was very much present to his priests and people, whom he loved and formed after the mind and heart of Christ.
What can we learn from this? Well, sometimes we may think that failure is inevitable. Deep down, we may believe that the decline of the Church is inevitable, that bishops and priests inevitably will be corrupt and ineffective shepherds, that we ourselves are bound to fail morally, and that our efforts to move the needle for the Order will not succeed. In succumbing to the myth of inevitability, we leave no room for God’s grace – in our lives, in the lives of others, including in the lives of fellow Knights.
Pope Francis often says that ours is a God of surprises … but if we imagine failure to be inevitable, we make it harder for God to sneak up on us.
Core Conversations
There’s another take away from Charles Borromeo’s feast day and it’s this: St. Charles Borromeo was a good shepherd, not just because he worked hard, but because he was willing to speak about the things that really mattered, especially in the many synods he held in his diocese and in his conferences and conversations with his priests. He didn’t lecture them on arcane points of church law or obscure liturgical directives, but instead led them to an ever deeper life of faith, prayer, and pastoral charity. It could be said that St. Charles Borromeo engaged in “core conversations” with his priest and with his people … and this was essential to reform and growth.
Not too hard to see where this is going! As we seek to grow the Order and to make it an engine of evangelization, like St. Charles Borromeo we have to engage in “core conversations” … to speak to one another about what really matters in our lives as men of faith, in our church, in our families. We might ask this good shepherd, St. Charles Borromeo, to intercede for the ongoing success of our Core initiative in our jurisdictions.
You Must Be Present to Win
There’s also a third takeaway from this saint’s feast day, already hinted at. St. Charles brought about great change in the Archdiocese of Milan simply by being present, by visiting parishes, by knowing his priests, by showing his deep interest in the spiritual growth of his people. He wanted to know what the preaching was like, how the Mass was celebrated, what the true pastoral needs were, who was sick or in need of consolation. When plague and famine struck, St. Charles Borromeo remained in Milan, unlike other leaders that fled from the city, and he oversaw the feeding of some 50,000 people a day. So, Charles was constantly on the move, almost as if he were a mendicant, seeking what was good for the people he served and seeking to help them avoid what was to their detriment.
So we might sum up this third takeaway thusly: “We must be present to win!” Over the years, I’ve had many conversations with State Deputies. Especially in the geographically larger jurisdictions, you and your wives do a lot of driving. One State Deputy astonished me by the number of miles he put on his car in a year. Getting around to your districts, to your councils, engaging fellow knights and their families in your jurisdictions – well, I don’t have to tell any of you how important that is. It’s one thing, as we know, to send out a directive or a suggestion, which is often likely to get lost in the shuffle. It is quite another thing to meet and engage brother knights on their home turf, especially as we seek to expand our mission of attracting a younger demographic and enabling the Knights to continue to be the premier men’s organization.
Reprise
In God’s Providence, a saint hailing from 16th century Milan is speaking to Knights of Columbus leaders and their families in the 21st century – urging us to leave room for God’s grace to work in our lives and the lives of others, prompting us to engage in core conversations, and pushing us to visit and to know that Knights and Councils in our jurisdictions. And if Charles Borromeo’s urgings don’t work, well, there’s always Blessed Michael McGivney to urge us on, not to mention the astonishing fact that all we do has its source in the Eucharist and all we do finds its highest completion when offered to the Lord in the Eucharist. Let us resolve to go forth from this mid-year meeting with renewed zeal and resolve. Vivat Jesus!