Page "Ambrosians" Paragraph 6

Saint Charles Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan, successfully reformed their discipline, grown lax, in 1579.

In 1589 Pope Sixtus V united to the Congregation of St Ambrose the monasteries of a group known as the " Brothers of the Apostles of the Poor Life " ( or " Apostolini " or " Brothers of St. Barnabas "), whose houses were in the province of Genoa and in the March of Ancona.

This was an order that had been founded by Giovanni Scarpa at the end of the 15th century.

The union was confirmed by Pope Paul V in 1606, at which time the congregation added the name of St. Barnabas to its title, adopted new constitutions, divided its houses into four provinces, two of them, St Clement's and St Pancras's, being in Rome.

Published works have survived from the pen of Ascanio Tasca and Michele Mulozzani, each of whom was superior-general, and of Zaccaria Visconti, Francesco-Maria Guazzi and Paolo Fabulotti.

Although various Ambrosians were given the title of Blessed in recognition of their holiness: Antonio Gonzaga of Mantua, Filippo of Fermo, and Gerardo of Monza, the order was eventually dissolved by Pope Innocent X in 1650.