About St Charles - saintcharlespl.com

St. Charles Borromeo was born into an influential family in Milan, Italy, October 2, 1538. At age 12, he shaved his head, to prepare for entry into a religious order. His uncle, Pope Pius IV, assisted him in his church career, and after he had obtained degrees in both theology and law, Charles was made a Cardinal Deacon by the pope at age 22 – all before being ordained a priest. Charles’ new duties included serving as Cardinal to the diocese of Milan, overseeing many religious orders and serving in the roles of Papal Legate to cities in the Papal States, and acting as Cardinal Protector of Portugal, the Low Countries, and Switzerland. Cardinal played a major role in the Council of Trent, and was inspired to spend the rest of his life renewing the Church after the devastation caused by the Reformation. He is best remembered for renewing the parish priesthood and starting seminaries. He stamped out ecclesiastical bribery, improved preaching and catechetical instruction, and combatted widespread superstitions. The faithful loved him for his personal generosity and heroism in combatting a devastating plague and famine. Charles was a model Christian in every way, who attended two retreats a year, went to Confession daily, and mortified himself continually. This one-man army for God, counter-Reformation priest, and bishop died in Milan on November 3, 1584 and was laid to rest in the Milan Cathedral. Devotion to Charles Borromeo began almost immediately, and he was canonized in 1610. His feast day is November 4.

St. Charles Borromeo Parish was established by His Excellency Charles F. Buddy for the spiritual care of the residents of Point Loma and the large government housing projects in the Midway area. The site was located across from the Naval Training Center Gate 1, on swamp land inhabited by frolicking seagulls. The first pastor, Msgr. Joseph Trivisonno, who had been chaplain to Italian prisoners of war during World War II, served the parish from 1946 to 1949. He built Cadiz St., St. Charles Rd, and St Charles Place to access the new parish grounds. Msgr. Trivisonno wrote to two hundred religious orders, requesting sisters to teach at the newly built St. Charles Borromeo Academy, and received a favorable reply from the Daughters of Divine Charity of Staten Island, New York. Under the direction of its first Principal, Sister Laetitia, the school opened in September 1947. There were no desks, only chairs. Msgr. Trivisonno offered a novena to Our Lady of Perpetual help to ask for help in providing for the sisters and for the new school. The sisters lived in a house on Freeman St. until the convent was completed in May, 1948. Parishioners attended Mass in the Loma Theatre until the new church building was dedicated on November 4, 1947, on the feast day of St. Charles Borromeo, who is also the patron saint of the Ordinary of the San Diego Diocese. The parish continued to grow, and additional classrooms were built in 1951, and a new fifteen-room rectory was built in 1955. In 1964, the new church building was completed and the original church was converted into the Parish Hall. In 1968, a new table-type marble Altar was added, in keeping with Vatican II guidelines. In 1996, the parish celebrated its 50th anniversary with a Mass in the current church.

1946-1949 Monsignor Joseph Trivisonno 1949-1950 (Pictured) Reverend Edward Johnson 1949-1950 Monsignor Michael Byrne 1950-1952 Monsignor William Bergin 1952-1954 Monsignor William Cooney 1954-1977 Monsignor William Kraft 1977-1978, Monsignor Michael Higgins 1978-79, Monsignor Robert Callahan 1979-1986 Monsignor Thomas McDermott 1986-1990 Reverend Harold Tindall 1990-1994 Reverend Peter Escalante 1994-1999 Reverend Michel Froidurot 1999-2001 Reverend Cavana Wallace 2001-2004 Reverend Gary Holtey 2004-2009 Reverend Edward McNulty 2009-2012 Reverend William Kernan 2012-2017 Reverend Christopher Tozzi 2017-Present Reverend John Amsberry