or's degree. In 1560 his uncle, Cardinal Angelo de'
Medici, was raised to the pontificate as Pius IV. Borromeo was made
prothonotary, entrusted with both the public and the privy seal of the
ecclesiastical state, and created cardinal with the administration of
Romagna and the March of Ancona, and the supervision of the Franciscans,
the Carmelites and the knights of Malta. He was thus at the age of
twenty-two practically the leading statesman of the papal court. Soon
after he was raised to the archbishopric of Milan. In compliance with
the pope's desire, he lived in great splendour; yet his own temperance
and humility were never brought into question. He established an academy
of learned persons, and published their memoirs as the _Noctes
Vaticanae_. About the same time he also founded and endowed a college at
Pavia, which he dedicated to Justina, virgin and martyr. On the death of
his elder brother Federigo, he was advised to quit the church and
marry, that his family might not become extinct. He declined the
proposal, however, and became henceforward still more fervent in
exercises of piety, and more zealous for the welfare of the church.
Owing to his influence over Pius IV., he was able to facilitate the
final deliberations of the council of Trent, and he took a large share
in the drawing up of the Tridentine catechism (_Catechismus Romanus_).

On the death of Pius IV. (1566), the skill and diligence of Borromeo
contributed materially to suppressing the cabals of the conclave.
Subsequently he devoted himself wholly to the reformation of his
diocese, which had fallen into a most unsatisfactory condition owing to
the prolonged absences of its previous archbishops. He made a series of
pastoral visits, and restored decency and dignity to divine service. In
conformity with the decrees of the council of Trent, he cleared the
cathedral of its gorgeous tombs, rich ornaments, banners, arms, sparing
not even the monuments of his own relatives. He divided the nave of the
church into two compartments for the separation of the sexes. He
extended his reforms to the collegiate churches (even to the
fraternities of penitents and particularly that of St John the Baptist),
and to the monasteries. The great abuses which had overrun the church at
this time arose principally from the ignorance of the clergy. Borromeo,
therefore, established seminaries, colleges and communities for the
education of candidates for holy orders. The most remar