St. Ambrose of Milan, a member of a traditional Christian family in Rome, was born in 340 A.D. at Trier, the capital of Gaul, where his father Ambrosius served as the Prefect of Gaul. After the untimely death of his father in A.D. 354, he returned to Rome with his mother and two siblings. He attained mastery in law and became a well-known advocate. Recognizing his expertise in law, Emperor Valentinian appointed Ambrose as the Governor of Liguria-Emilia in 370, after which he shifted his residence to the official quarters in Milan.
After twenty years of anti-Church governance, when Auxentius, the Bishop of Milan and an Arian sympathizer, died in 374, other bishops sought the Emperor’s assistance to elect a new bishop. That responsibility was entrusted to Ambrose, the Governor. As he attempted to bring together the Arians and the Nicenes, who stood on opposite sides, both groups unanimously demanded that Ambrose himself should become the next bishop. At that time, he was only a catechumen; but after receiving baptism and the other sacraments, he was ordained bishop on December 7, 374. He then sold all his possessions and distributed them to the poor. To compensate for his lack of theological training, he dedicated the subsequent period to the study of Sacred Scripture and the Fathers of the Church (especially Origen and St. Basil). It was St. Ambrose who brought about the conversion of St. Augustine and administered his baptism. His proficiency in the Greek language and literature helped him engage in open dialogue with Greek theology. Taking a firm stand against Arian heresy, he courageously disregarded the Emperor’s order in 385–86 to hand over a Catholic church to the Arians. He remained the Bishop of Milan until his passing from this world in 397.
St. Jerome testifies (DVI 124) that he refrains from evaluating Ambrose because he was his contemporary and still alive at the time. Regarded as one of the greatest among the Latin Church Fathers along with St. Augustine, St. Jerome, and Pope St. Gregory, he was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church, and the Church also granted official recognition to his holy life. He is venerated as a heavenly intercessor for the city of Milan.
