Saint Ambrose is known as one of the four great scholars of the Latin Church. He was born in 340 AD. A.D. Ambrose was the son of a Roman citizen who held the position of prefect of Gaul. His father died when he was a child. Then they then moved to Rome.
One day Ambrose was lying in a cradle. A swarm of bees flew up to him and some of them rested on his lips. Seeing this, Ambrose’s mother considered the incident as a sign of her son’s future glory.
At an early age, Ambrose became governor of Liguria and Aemilia. But shortly afterward the saint was sent to Milan with the authority of a judge. The saint arrives at a time of intense controversy between Catholics and Arian heretics over the choice of a new bishop. Ambrose summoned everyone. A child from the crowd shouted, “Ambrose is our bishop!” The people accepted this as a revelation and shouted for him to be made bishop.
But Bishop Ambrose, who had not yet been baptized, refused to accept the term and twice tried to flee. But at the constant request of the people, on December 7, 374, Ambrose was baptized, ordained to the priesthood, and ordained bishop.
As soon as he became bishop, he gave his property to the poor and the church. Since then he has worked tirelessly for the betterment of the Diocese of Milan. In the face of the saint’s profound erudition and eloquence, the powerful heretics of the day were forced to bow their heads in silence. So the enemies often tried to endanger the saint. At the instigation of Arian heretics, Ambrose did not hesitate to confront the emperor directly, who tried to give him a Persian basilica.
To the emperor, who was about to pronounce judgment on the basilica, Ambrose said: “Bishops judge Christian emperors on matters of faith.” The saint admitted Theodosius I to the temple after he had publicly atoned for the massacre of Thessalonica.
He is the author of a number of books on the subject of the Holy Scriptures, the priesthood, and virginity. Ambrose was also responsible for the conversion of Augustine, one of the great saints of the Church. In 397, at the age of 57, he was called to the Eternal Gift.