struction of youth, and other religious, again, with the nursing of the sick. There arose also communities of religious women for the training up of young girls to a pious and godly life; as the Orders of the Visitation, of the Ursulines, and of the Good Shepherd, and the Institute of English Ladies.[1] Above all, this period was exceedingly rich in heroes of faith and virtue. St. Charles Borromeo, Cardinal Archbishop of Milan (d. 1584), set a bright example of true Christian charity during the plague, by visiting the sick in the most dangerous places, in lazarettos and hospitals, and by giving up all his property, even his bed, for the relief of the sufferers. St. Francis of Sales, Prince-Bishop of Geneva (d. 1622), converted, by the irresistible power of his meekness and humility, seventy-two thousand Savoyards from the errors of Calvin to the true Faith. St. Vincent of Paul (d. 1660) devoted his whole life to the poor and distressed; no misery, of whatever kind or form, escaped the ardor and abundance of his love. He founded orphanages and foundling hospitals; he established a Congregation of Missionary Priests (called Lazarists, from St. Lazarus College in Paris) for the instruction of ignorant country people; an association for the reforming of convicts, and also the admirable Institute of the Sisters of Charity for nursing the sick. In Germany, especially in Austria and Bavaria, and in Switzerland, the Venerable Peter Canisius opposed himself as a mighty barrier against Heresy; he combated it by his writings and incessant preaching, and founded schools and pious institutions for preserving and enlivening the true Faith established by Christ and His Apostles. The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were also illustrated by St. John of God, St. John of the Cross, St. Thomas of Vil-
- ↑ This Institute was established in the Netherlands for English ladies who were persecuted under Queen Elizabeth for their attachment to the Catholic Faith, and soon spread over Germany, where it is still flourishing under the above name, though its members have long ceased to be English.
