Tuesday, November 4, 2025

It is the 4th of November 2025. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

Today’s show begins with a word of the day- it is: nepotism. You are perhaps familiar with the neologism: “Nepobaby”, someone whose wealth or fame has been given to them. It’s a pejorative.

But did you know this term comes to us from church history? Nepotism, that is. The Latin is nepotem, and it means “nephew”. The “-ism” comes from the general distaste of some “nephews” getting special treatment. And not just any “nephew” but the nephew of the Pope.

The nephew of a pope would often receive the position of Cardinal, and so the “Cardinal-Nephew” became a medieval tradition associated with favoritism- thus “nepotism”. The “nephew” of a Pope was often a euphemism for the Pope’s son… because… well, forced celibacy might have such unplanned results.

But today’s story is about one such “Cardinal Nephew,” but one who would make his name fighting against corruption in the Catholic Church, so much so that he would have to survive an assassination attempt.

He was Charles Borromeo- born in 1538 in the duchy of Milan, the nephew of Pope Pius IV (and in this case, it seems, an actual nephew). He was granted income from a Benedictine Abbey by the age of 12, but is reported to have surprised his family by giving it to charity.

He would attend the University of Pavia in the 1550s and received his law degree in both civil and canon/church law. His uncle elevated him to the position of Cardinal, as was the custom, but Charles’ older brother died, and he was encouraged by his family to leave church work to take over the large family estate. But Charles had been invited into some of the inner workings of the Council of Trent- the council that gathered in response to the Protestant Reformation.

Borromeo- despite his position being the product of literal nepotism- saw the Catholic Reformation, or so-called “Counter Reformation,” as more important work than his inheriting the family wealth.

One of his concerns was to answer the claims of the Protestants by addressing the real corruption in the church. He knew that many offices and positions were given to men who didn’t live in those parishes. He wanted local leaders who could also be admonished for lax morals and for trying to collect revenues from illegitimate sources. He was especially harsh on the selling of indulgences. Note: he was not against the Catholic doctrine of indulgences- they could be given out, but never sold. He argued that selling indulgences, or giving them as a result of a donation, was the sin of simony (Simony being named after Simon Magus- the man who wanted to pay the apostles to receive their power and authority).

Borromeo himself, as the Archbishop of Milan, undertook visitations throughout the duchy- observing ignorance, he sought to facilitate educational reform. Another key aspect of the Catholic Reformation coming out of the Council of Trent was the implementation of the Catholic Catechism- a response to the popular and seemingly effective Protestant catechisms.

But such reform would not be popular amongst those who had benefited from the old ways. Such was the Humiliati- a penitential order dating back to the 12th century in Milan. They had begun as an order devoted to acts of mercy and charity, but had grown in land holdings and wealth. By the time of the Reformation, they were considered to be a prime example of a corrupt church order. Thus, the work of Borromeo would upset them- and it came to a head in October of 1569 when Girolamo Donato Farina snuck into the Archbishop’s private chapel with his arquebus (a long gun) and fired at Borromeo from close range. The stories vary- but one version has the bullet getting lodged in the vestments of the Archbishop, saving him and spreading his legend amongst the people who used this to argue that his call for reform was divinely ordained.

Borromeo’s brush with the miraculous and his heroic service to the people of Milan during a plague in which he gave up much of his own family wealth to aid the sick and dying made him a popular symbol for the ‘Counter-Reformation’. His work in the local parish, education, and setting up schools and seminaries has made him the patron saint of bishops, cardinals, Seminarians, and Catholic Reformers. He would die on the 3rd or, perhaps on this, the 4th of November in 1584. The Catholic Nephew Cardinal and Reformer Charles Borromeo was only 46 years old.

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and, oh.. Hey… Jude, from verse 17:

17 But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; 18 they said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” 19 It is these who set up divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; 21 keep yourselves in the love of God; wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 4th of November 2025, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who wears all of his vestments just in case someone comes to church armed with an arquebus- he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who has been assured by his brother-in-law, David, that it is Christmas music season- I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.