Catholic Fire

Today is the memorial of St. Charles Borromeo (1538 - 15840), Bishop of Milan and one of the great reformers of the sixteenth century. He is is the patron of catechists, catechumens, spiritual directors, and spiritual leaders. Charles was born at the Castle of Arona in northern Italy to wealthy and powerful parents. His father, Count Gilbert Borromeo, was a man of virtue and skill, and his mother was a member of the famous Medici family of Milan, sister of Angelo de Medici, who was to become Pope Pius IV. Raised in a pious family, Charles was deeply devoted to the Passion of Christ and to the Blessed Mother. He received the clerical tonsure at age twelve and was educated at the Benedict Abbey of Saints Gratian and Felinus. He earned a doctorate in civil and canon law at the University of Pavia. When his uncle, Cardinal de Medici, was elected pope in 1559, as Pius IV, Charles was made cardinal-deacon and administrator to the archdiocese of Milan while still a lay person and a s...

Pope Francis has certainly won my heart. I could tell he was a humble man, when I first saw him on EWTN. Everything we have been reading about him in Catholic news reports points to his humility and love for God and the poor. Then, just the other day, my husband shared this with me , which opened my heart to him. He reminds me of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta in many ways. Mother Teresa opened a home in America for AIDS patients and she urged the destitute and dying to come to her for care, even when they had been rejected by their own families. Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of AIDS patients in Argentina. There is much that I could say about him, but you can learn so much about him just by watching him interact with people and listening to him. March 17, 2013. (Romereports.com) It seemed like there was no more room in St. Peter's Square or along surrounding streets. Hundreds of thousands of people came to hear the first Angelus of Pope Francis. Early ri...