St. Ambrose (339-397) was the bishop of the Italian city of Milan. He was the outstanding leader, preacher, and author in the Western part of the Christian Church during the 4th century.

Born in the city of Trier (now in Germany), Ambrose was the son of one of the highest-ranking administrative officials of the Roman Empire, the praetorian prefect of Gaul. After the early death of his father, the family returned to Rome, where Ambrose received the liberal education appropriate to a high-ranking Roman who was to practice law and advance to high office in government service. In his late 20s he was employed in legal work at the imperial court, and at about 30 he was named governor of two provinces of northern Italy, in which capacity he resided at Milan. On the death of the bishop of Milan in 374, the people of the city demanded that Ambrose...