P. Emanuele Boaga, O.Carm.
In this short text, we would like to point out the mutual relationships of Saint Charles Borromeo, whose feast is celebrated on November 4, with Carmel.
Title Cardinal and Cardinal Protector
Saint Charles was appointed cardinal by Pope Pius IV (his maternal uncle) on January 31, 1560, with the title of deacon of the Roman church of Saints Vitus and Modestus.1 On June 4 of the same year, he received (in place of that) the title of cardinal presbyter at the Roman basilica of San Martino ai Monti, that is, at the church of the Carmelites.2 Here his generosity is still evidenced by the well-preserved reminder – the gilded ceiling of the main nave. However, out of respect for the pillar, where the Lord Jesus was reportedly scourged, worshipped in the nearby basilica of Saint Praxedes, Saint Charles transferred his cardinal title on November 18, 1564, specifically to this church.
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| Portrait of Saint Charles Borromeo, printed in a book from 1762 in the historical library of the monastery in Kostelní Vydří |
He remained connected with the Carmelites as the protector of the order.3 He held this position – from May 5, 1563 – for nearly ten years, until February 5, 1573, when he had to resign from it for health reasons.
He maintained close friendly relations with the General Superior of the Carmelites, Giovanni Battista Rossi (or Rubeo), from Ravenna, known more for the mutual respect that connected him with Saint Teresa of Avila. Cardinal Charles Borromeo personally contributed to the drafting of papal documents by which P. Rossi was appointed apostolic commissioner for the (entire) order (1562)4 and then also tasked with implementing the Tridentine reform in the order, which was required by the General Chapter held in 1564. P. Rossi maintained deep gratitude towards Charles Borromeo. This explains why, after the death of the titular cardinal of the Carmelites, Giacomo du Puy, he asked the pope to appoint Saint Charles to this office.
Extraordinary Affection
The day after his election as General Superior, on Sunday, May 21, 1564, during the feast of the Pentecost, P. Rossi went with a procession of religious to pay homage to the pope. On this occasion, Saint Charles had the "veil of Saint Veronica" displayed in the Vatican basilica so that it could be venerated. During the audience that followed in the afternoon, the pope entrusted the interests of the Carmelites to Cardinal Charles Borromeo, who was also present at the audience.
On his trip to Milan later that same year, P. Rossi visited Cardinal Charles Borromeo on November 4, 1564. In the following days, he participated in the penitent processions led by the saint. On Saturday, November 9, he was invited to lunch by Saint Charles, who was also attended by Duke Gabriele d'Albuquerque, the viceroy of the Spanish king and governor of Milan. P. Rossi's secretary emphasizes the special respect, kindness, and warmth shown to the Carmelite General Prior both by Saint Charles and the duke. He took this opportunity to present to the cardinal-protector, among other documents, "above all the decree containing the records of the Carmelite Brotherhood." These last words led some authors to presume that Saint Charles accepted the (Carmelite) scapular, which, however, cannot be confirmed.
In the Ambrosian Library in Milan, the correspondence of P. Rossi with Charles Borromeo is preserved. In the convent of the Carmelite nuns in Careggi in Florence, the original manuscript of the statutes of this convent, revised and approved in Rome in 1564, with the saint's own signature, is still kept. The cardinal-protector "particularly loved" the Carmelite church in Milan; he also visited the churches in nearby Carnate, in Cremona (1575), and in Luino (1574), where he honored the remains of the founder, Jacopino Eleuterio Beltrame, a Carmelite layman of holy reputation.
Gratitude and Remembrance
Charles Borromeo was declared a saint in 1610. During the General Chapter of the Carmelite Order in 1613, a request was raised to have his feast included in the Carmelite liturgical calendar. In 1614, an altar was erected for Saint Charles in the Roman basilica of San Martino ai Monti (modified to its present form only in 1693), with a painting by Filippo Gherardi.
This example was followed throughout the order. In another Roman Carmelite church, Santa Maria in Traspontina, an altar was established in honor of Saint Charles with a painting by Giulia Cesare Procaccini in 1626 (now in the National Gallery in Dublin), replaced in 1673 by a painting by Carlo Maratta (now located in the convent).5 Altars from the same years can be found in Carmine Maggiore in Naples, in Venice, and in Milan. This devotion spread in a paradigmatic and characteristic manner in Belgium, where each Carmelite church had an altar and a brotherhood in honor of Saint Charles: in Brussels in 1636, in Ghent and Valenciennes in 1646, in Bruges and Ypres in 1647, and in Antwerp in 1648, Malines in 1657. Since 1615, reformed Carmelites in France chose Saint Charles as their patron along with Saint Joseph.
Not without reason did one author from the late 17th century, when writing about Saint Charles Borromeo, state that: "the Carmelites ... have proven to be the spreaders of his glory."
Finally, we would like to remind that among the group of cardinals – successors of Saint Charles on the Milanese archiepiscopal see and his successors in the title of the Roman basilica of San Martino ai Monti were also Popes Pius XI and Paul VI, as well as Cardinal Blessed Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster. He had a parish church of Saints Silvester and Martin built in Milan in 1937 to serve as a visible reminder of the Roman cardinal title of the successors of Saint Charles.6
Translated from Italian by Vlaďka Marie Polišenská,
notes supplemented by P. Gorazd, O.Carm.
