The history of the popes, from the close of the middle ages : drawn ...

BORROMEO AND THE HUMILIATI. 245
century it comprised less than 200 members/ who, Hving in
magnificent palaces, and surrounded by servants, squandered
the great possessions of the Order in banquets and worldly
pleasures. 2 It needed some courage to interfere for their
reform, because the nobles of Lombardy looked upon the rich
houses of the Humiliati as places of retirement for the members
of their famihes, and because the Order had at its command
the influence of powerful friends and relatives.'^ Cardinal
Borromeo, however, who had been Protector of the Humiliati
since 1560,* possessed this courage. He had already, in the
time of Pius IV., made some attempts to reform them through
the agency of Ormaneto, but in vain. After the death of
his uncle he went into the matter with Ormaneto and with
the Pope himself, and asked for a brief ordering all the
superiors to resign their office, limiting their term of office to
a short period, placing in other hands the administration of
the property, and obhging all the members to a true monastic
and common hfe.^ Armed with this brief, in June, 1567,
Borromeo took the Humiliati by surprise at their chapter at
^ According to Bascap^, i, 2, c. 13, p. 54, in the 94 provostships,
of which many were vacant, there were 174 monks, with revenues
of 25,000 ducats ;
another 30,000 ducats of revenue were given
in commendam. In Milan alone the Humiliati possessed eight
churches. The bull of February S, 1571. mentions only 84 priests
and 17 lay brothers (Bull. Rom., VII., 891). According to
Tiraboschi (Vetera Humil. monumenta, I, Milan 1766, diis. VIII)
the order in the middle of the XVIth century had 1G2 members,
including the novices and lay brothers, 97 houses, of which 39 were
commendams and 58 provostships, and 60,000 gold florins. Sala,
Dissertazioni e note (for the biography of Borromeo), 413, n. 3.
2 Thus the bull of reform of May i, 1567, in Laderchi, 1567,
n. 74.
* Bascape, 3, 2, c. 4, p. 35.
* Sala, Docuni, 1., 41^.
* Brief of May i, 1567, in Laderchi, 1567, n. 74. Sala,
Docum. I., 195 seqq. Cf. Bascap±, loc. cit. A *brief " Duci et
dominio Venetiarum " of June 20,, 1567, invites him to assist the
Cardinal in the reform of the Humihati. State Archives, Venice,
Bolle.