Chapter 11

St. Charles Borromeo and St. Francis De Sales

The Barnabites rightly revere these two saints as their patrons. The most decisive work
accomplished by St. Charles in favor of the congregation was the composition of the Constitutions
of 1579. Francis de Sales encouraged the Barnabites to consider education as a worthy apostolate.
Both men infused the order with a spirit of pastoral zeal and an asceticism rooted in love.
114 CHAPTER 11 – St. Charles Borromeo and St. Francis De Sales

ST. CHARLES BORROMEO

(1538-1584)

Charles Borromeo was archbishop of Milan, also a Cardinal, a Papal Secretary of State
under Pope Pius IV, and a leader in the Catholic Counter-Reformation. His emblem was the word
humilitas crowned, which is displayed on a portion of the Borromeo shield. He is usually
represented in art in his cardinal's robes, barefoot, carrying the cross as archbishop, with a rope
around his neck, and one hand raised in blessing, thus recalling his work during a major plague.

He was born in Rocca d’Arona (Lake Maggiore) on October 2, 1538, the second son of
Count Giberto Borromeo and Margherita de’Medici, sister of Pius IV. His parents intended him
for the Church, hence as a boy he received the clerical tonsure and at age twelve, the title of the
abbacy of San Gratiano. He was tutored at Milan by Francesco Alciati, and studied at the
University of Pavia (1552-59), where he earned a doctorate in utroque (= Civil and Canon Law).
Three weeks later (Dec. 25, 1559) Cardinal Gian Angelo de’ Medici succeeded Paul V, taking the
name of Pius IV. The new Pope called his young nephew to Rome and rapidly advanced his
ecclesiastical career.

St. Charles and the Barnabites

The veneration of the Barnabites

for St. Charles was such that only a few
months after his canonization
(November 1610), they were the first to
dedicate a church in his honor in Rome,
St. Charles ai Catinari, which at the time
was under construction.

The Barnabites came to know

Borromeo personally for the first time on
September 23, 1565, when he was
elevated to the archbishopric of Milan.
Two years later, when Fr. Alexander
Sauli was elected superior general, Sauli
was drawn into the rarified circle within
the walls of the archbishop‘s palace,
becoming his counselor, confessor and
intimate friend. Occasionally the
archbishop even took restful breaks at St.
Barnabas, where he could be seen rinsing
 HISTORY OF THE BARNABITES 115

the supper dishes in the large stone sink in the courtyard, which has survived to this day. He
consecrated their main altar on September 5, 1568, and gave the reverend fathers a precious
reliquary.

The Cardinal was resolved to do something to lift the congregation out of its chronic
poverty and also help save the religious order of the Humiliati at the same time. They had been
founded in the year 1000, but had completely lost their original discipline and were averse to any
attempt at reform. He would hand over 94 rich houses owned by the Humiliati to the Barnabites
as well as unite 150 new members to their much smaller congregation. Meanwhile the Barnabites
would work to reform and renew the bigger order of the Humiliates. But it was not to be. Fr. Sauli
refused this union, fearing that it would usher in turmoil for them both, especially since the
Humiliati, as the larger of the two, could end up controlling their reformers. A disappointed Charles
Borromeo turned to his uncle Pius V to intervene in his favor, but to his surprise, the Pope
supported Fr. Sauli. When Friar Jerome Donati (of the order of the Humiliati) tried to assassinate
the Cardinal, the Pope suppressed the order once and for all.

The suppression left many religious houses available. The archbishop used his influence
so that many of them would go to the Barnabites, who had been so helpful to him in the diocese.
He pulled strings so that the Barnabites could open a house in Rome, as well as to get the Venetian
ban of 1551 (suppressing the Barnabites) lifted. The latter attempt failed, however.

Growing trust and confidence

Charles Borromeo loved the Barnabites for the simple reason that he experienced their
holiness and total dedication to the salvation of souls. Hence he asked their help in the reform of
monasteries. They also were instrumental in the founding of the convent of the Capuchin nuns at
St. Prassede, where they served as spiritual directors for many years. In 1567 he sent Fr. Peter
Besozzi on a canonical visit to various religious orders.

Other delicate missions with which Cardinal Borromeo entrusted them:

In the summer of 1580 he sent Fr. Charles Bascapè to the King of Spain, Philip II, to ease
tensions between the Archbishop (of Milan) and the Governor of Milan, the Marches Ajamonte.
In 1583 Fathers Boerio, Adorno and Grattarola were sent to Valtellina to check the spread of
Calvinism. Twice Fr. Boerio had to leave Valtellina because of persecution. He returned again in
1584, but was mistreated so badly that he left for good.
116 CHAPTER 11 – St. Charles Borromeo and St. Francis De Sales

Holy friendships

We have already seen how Charles Borromeo entrusted Fr. Bascapè with the diplomatic
mission to Madrid. Before he entered the priesthood Bascapè had received a degree in canon and
civil law when he was 26 years old. By then he had met Borromeo, who steered him towards a
religious vocation. When Bascapè entered the Barnabite order, and with Archbishop Borromeo’s
encouragement, the scholarly cleric devoted himself to the study of the Milanese church and its
Ambrosian rite, to the revision and composition of books and decrees and the editing of the
Synodal Acts, etc. The archbishop also entrusted him with pastoral visits, and turned to him as his
personal confessor. Finally it was Fr. Bascapè who closed the eyes of the future saint, who passed
away on November 4, 1584.

As bishop of Novara, Fr. Bascapè devoted himself to writing the life of St. Charles and
was even referred to as “the other St. Charles.” He was zealous in promoting the cause of his
beatification and canonization.

The general chapter of 1614 proclaimed St. Charles patron of the order, prescribing a fast
on the vigil, and a solemn celebration of his feast day.
 HISTORY OF THE BARNABITES 117

SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES

(1567-1622)

The eldest of 13 children, Francis was born in Thorens, Savoy, on August 21, 1567. At the
age of seven he began school at La Roche. After two years he was sent to an institution in Annecy
run by the secular clergy. At age ten, on December 17, 1577, Francis de Sales received his First
Communion and Confirmation on the same day.
118 CHAPTER 11 – St. Charles Borromeo and St. Francis De Sales

In 1582 he left Annecy to study at the University of Paris in the Jesuit college of Clermont.
The following six years were of prime importance in his formation. Intellectually he became a man
of the Renaissance, obtaining a bachelor’s degree in the arts. He also took time for a thorough
study of Scripture and of theology.

After his return to Annecy in 1588, his father wished him to study law, sending him to the
University of Padua for that purpose. Here Francis furthered his theological studies and graduated
in 1591 with a doctorate in both civil and canon law.

As far as his father was concerned his son was ripe for marriage. Francis, however, had
other ideas, and was set on becoming a priest. Despite parental opposition, he was ordained on
December 18, 1593. Thanks to his influential cousin, Fr. Louis de Sales, Francis obtained a
position as provost of the Church of St. Peter in Geneva, Switzerland.

Bishop Claude de Granier soon nominated the brilliant provost as his coadjutor (bishop‘s
assistant). In March 1599 Pope Clement VIII confirmed the nomination, but delayed his
consecration for some reason. In the meantime Bishop de Granier died, and two months later, on
Dec. 8, 1602, Francis was consecrated as his successor. He was all of thirty-five years old.

Francis de Sales comes to know the Barnabites

In April of 1613 Bishop Francis de Sales happened to visit Milan, where he made sure to
pray at the tomb of the now canonized St. Charles Borromeo. His heartfelt prayer was for the
health of Countess Frances Fremiot de Chantal back in Geneva, and for his own apostolic ministry.

Passing by Turin, he stopped to visit Charles Emmanuele I, Duke of Savoy. The duke found
out that the bishop had asked the Jesuits to take over the school in Annecy, but they had declined,
and he was now at a loss. The Duke suggested the Barnabites.

From Turin the holy bishop stopped in Vercelli to meet with the Barnabites for the first
time. He proceeded to Milan to speak with Father General Ambrogio Mazenta at St. Barnabas. He
arrived on April 25 and was warmly received, staying as a guest in the very room once inhabited
by St. Charles Borromeo during his many stays there. In the end he convinced him to consider
taking over the school, thus inaugurating the order’s educational mission.

Annecy

Fr. Simpliciano Fregoso and Fr. Giusto Guerin took over the direction of the school.
 HISTORY OF THE BARNABITES 119

Francis de Sales made sure the reverend fathers had enough revenues to run their
establishment, and also entrusted them with the oversight of the Sisters of the Visitation. Over the
years he came to love and admire the Barnabites and participated in all of their celebrations and
academic milestones. So strong was his identification with the Barnabites that on May 7, 1617,
Fr. General Domenico Boerio formally affiliated him with the order.

Thonon

At the bishop’s suggestion the Barnabites established themselves in Thonon, France, where
they took charge of another school dubbed “Holy House.” It was not only a school but a center for
the Catholic Counter-Reformation. Since their revenues were inadequate, he gave them the rich
priory of Contamine-sur-Arve. On April 6, 1617, in a letter addressed to the general chapter, he
also proposed opening a novitiate in Rumilly. For various reasons it was opened in Thonon instead.

Francis de Sales used his many connections to further the expansion of the order in France.
(Some of the reverend fathers were already involved in mission work in southern France by order
of Pope Paul V.) While on a visit to Paris in 1618, and through unstinting effort on his part, the
future saint obtained a royal permit by which the Barnabites could open religious houses and
schools anywhere in France.

Benevolence towards some of the Fathers

If the whole congregation was the object of the saint‘s benevolence, some of its members
were especially dear to him, as Father Just Guérin, who became his successor as bishop of Geneva.

One day when Francis de Sales was notified that Fr. Guérin was in the anteroom of his
office, he ran out to give him a hug, to the surprise of his servants. In his letters to Guérin he often
began with "My Reverend Father, whom I love as my own soul.“ De Sales also staunchly defended
Father General Mazenta whose major published work,“Uranoscopia” (1617), espoused the ideas
of Galileo and the Copernican system. There were many other Barnabites who earned his deep
admiration and affection.

His death and aftermath

St. Francis de Sales died in Lyons, France, on December 28, 1622. On January 23 his
remains were transferred to the church of the Holy Sepulcher in Annecy and afterward to the
Barnabites’ church in the same city, where on February 24 Father Amadeo Comotto delivered the
eulogy.
120 CHAPTER 11 – St. Charles Borromeo and St. Francis De Sales

The cause for the canonization of de Sales proceeded apace, spearheaded by Bishop Guérin
and Monsignor Gian Francesco de Sales, the brother of the late bishop. Tirelessly they worked to
collect all the necessary materials to introduce the cause of canonization. Father Marin traveled to
Rome to petition Pope Urban VIII for the nomination of an apostolic commission. He worked on
it faithfully from 1624 to 1636, when a pontifical decree temporarily halted the canonization
proceeding.

It was resumed in 1647, two years after Bishop Guerin’s death, At the end of 1655 Fr.
Eliseo Fusconi presented a petition to Alexander VII for Francis de Sales’ canonization. Six years
later, de Sales was beatified followed by his canonization in 1665.

In 1877 the superior general proposed declaring St. Francis de Sales a Doctor of the
Church. Yet another Barnabite, Cardinal Bilio, promoted the cause at the Congregation of Rites.
He stressed three important aspects of the saint: his deep asceticism, his mastery of apologetics,
and his efforts at the renewal and reform of the church in France. And so, “having heard the report
of our venerable brother Aloysius Cardinal Bilio,” Pope Pius IX proclaimed St. Francis de Sales a
Doctor of the Church.

More than a century ago the general chapter of 1716 had declared Saint Francis de Sales a
secondary patron of the congregation, along with St. Charles Borromeo.