St. Carlo Borromeo

St Charles Borromeo was ordained a bishop in 1563 and settled in his diocese of Milan in 1565 from where he began to implement the decrees issued by the Council of Trent. The Council's principles were directed towards a renewal of the church, responding to the attacks of the Protestants and renewing the discipline and training of the clergy. St Charles in 1565 found himself faced with a mountain of abuses and disorders everywhere: "...and we found that those countries were in a very bad state because the priests were scandalous men, apostates...and had concubines in their houses with their own children...(Atti S. 3)". He then began to travel around his diocese visiting all the parishes. The first pastoral visit in the Three Valleys was in 1567, followed by four more. 

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1) 15-30 Oct 1567

2) 4 Aug. - 4 Sept. 1570 (including the visit to the Swiss cantons)

3) 10 - 14 Dec 1577

4) 3 - 30 Aug 1581 (incl. visit to Disentis)

5) 26 Jul - 5 Aug 1582

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In two of these visits there is documentation of the passage of St. Charles Borromeo from Calonico (15th August 1570 and 10th August 1581). In 1567 Saint Charles did not visit Calonico but Chiggiogna, to whose parish Calonico belonged at that time. About Calonico there is only mention of the number of “fires”  (No of families), which were 40, and of the Church of San Martino " adest capella curata S.ti Martini " (Acts, p 30). In the 1570 visit, Calonico and its church of San Martino are mentioned as follows:

"The church of San Martino, belonging to the canonical church of Chiggiogna, was built on a steep hill and visited by the Illustrissimo Signor (Archbishop). It is not very big. There is no wooden tabernacle... but there is a beautiful pyx. There are two altars, namely: the high altar, below with a plastered and painted niche.... Three windows with glass panes. - Above the main door there is, inside the church, a large tribune. There is a large bell tower with two bells. - There is no sacristy. The parish care is exercised by one of the two rectors of the church of Chiggiogna. Mass is celebrated every third Sunday of the month, by one of the two parish priests, and once a week (Atti p 150)."

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The second pastoral visit of 1581 lacks the notes of the visit and therefore for the reconstruction of its passage from Calonico, the author of the acts of San Carlo, Paolo D'Alessandri, used the "Ordinationes": specific orders for a parish or general orders, which once returned to the episcopal seat, were written to the parishes as lists of shortcomings to be rectified. Orders for a parish: "...a beautiful wooden tabernacle should be made and placed above the high altar...a gilded pyx should be bought to hold the Most Holy Eucharist, which should always be kept with the lamp lit ... (Atti p 54) " and orders as a guide for all the parishes visited: "  The curates should observe the Ambrosian rite when baptizing..., 21. Let the curates and chaplains see to it that in their churches men are separated from women.…  (Atti, p 161, 162)".

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EArchbishop St Charles and his entourage prepared the pastoral visits in detail. He moved around the territory with great parsimony of means: when the road was steep he walked, he did not take food from one place to another but ate what he was given such as chestnuts and turnips instead of bread (Acts p.3) and « He rested little at night without taking off his clothes, from day to day he changed place and at night he rested on the beds of poor priests at times even full of parasites (Atti p 278) ».

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During his visit to the parish, he inspected the church and the presence of the tabernacle, altars, relics, baptistery etc and sacred furnishings (sacred oil vessels, crucifix, etc), celebrated mass, questioned the priests about their knowledge, private life, inspected the  act document of their ordination, inquired about the keeping of the parish books, the number of inhabitants (“fires”) and more. At the end of the visit, he drew up the 'Ordinationes' (see above) and demanded that they be read to all the neighbours.

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The diocese kept up a correspondence with the parishes, as in May 1569, when the diocese instructed the parish priest of Chiggiogna Theofrasto on how to proceed with regard to the "grave mistake" committed by Giacomo di Riva di Calonico and Margherita de Filippi di Tonza, who had joined together before marriage: «…we want that every Sunday of the year both of them stand at the door of the Church with a rope around their necks and a lit candle in their hands, while the Mass is said, and that the priest who says the Mass tells the people about the reason for this punishment ». It was also discovered that they were relatives in the fourth degree and therefore a dispensation was requested from Rome, which was not granted,: « Let them remain for ever completely separated » (Atti, p 106 e 109).  

The parishes were also visited by the vicar of Leventina, Giovan Basso at that time, who wrote to San Carlo: « In the visit that I made by order of their diocesan council I found in the baptistery of Auzonico many large worms and in the pyx of the Holy Sacrament of the church of Sobrio a small worm with a great quantity of communichini (= sacred hosts for faithfuls) and in Calonico the communichini busati (= pierced); if for this reason I have to impose some penance on the Curati, I desire that Your Lordship V. S. Illustrissima prescribes it » (Atti, p 342, 1583).

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St. Charles died on 3rd  November 1584.

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Federico Borromeo

St. Charles' successor, Archbishop Gasparre Visconti, approved in 1594 the foundation of the separate parish of Calonico S. Martino (Calonico archives of the patriziato).  

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Federico Borromeo, a cousin of St. Charles Borromeo, is the cardinal of the Manzonian plague mentioned in "The Betrothed". He became Archbishop of Milan in 1595 on the death of Gasparre Visconti and continued the work of St Charles by visiting the Tre Valli in 1602, 1608 and 1613.  During the visit in 1602 dedicated to the Leventina, he left from San Gottardo to pass through Chiggiogna on 11th August and from Anzonico, Cavagnago, Segno, Calonico on 17th August 1602.  It is not clear, however, whether Federico Borromeo or his apostolic notary Cesare Pezzano passed through Calonico. It is interesting to note that at that time Calonico had 120 souls divided into 25 families, of which 80 were "Anime di comunione". The parish priest of Calonico, Antonio Ceschino, is also mentioned « Very light in manner and easy to laugh » (Le Tre Valli svizzere, p 97 e 193, 1602). Perhaps a parish priest who was ahead of his time?

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Federico Borromeo died on 21st September 1631..