Saint Turibius de Mongrovejo
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Saint Turibius de/of Mo(n)grovejo or Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo (1538–23 May 1606) was a Spanish Judge of the Court of the Inquisition and missionary Archbishop of Lima from the Spanish nobility.
Born in Mayorga de Campos, Valladolid, Spain, of noble family and highly educated, Turibius was named after another saint, Turibius of Astorga. He became professor of law at the highly reputed University of Salamanca. He was ordained priest in 1578 and two years later was consecrated bishop.
His learning and virtuous reputation led to his appointment as Judge of the Court of the Inquisition at Granada by king Philip II on the Court of the Inquisition at Granada.
Though not yet of ecclesiastical rank, Turibius was named Archbishop of Lima, Peru, in May 1579.
He arrived at Paita, Peru, 600 miles from Lima, on 24 May 1581. He began his mission work by travelling to Lima on foot, baptizing and teaching the natives, his favourite topic being: "Time is not our own, and we must give a strict account of it." Three times he traversed the eighteen thousand miles of his diocese, generally on foot, defenceless and often alone; exposed to tempests, torrents, deserts, wild beasts, tropical heat, fevers, and savage tribes; baptizing and confirming nearly one half million souls, among them St. Rose of Lima, St. Francis Solano, St. Martin de Porres, and St. John de Massias.
He built roads, school houses, and chapels innumerable, and many hospitals and convents, and founded the first Seminary in the Western hemisphere, at Lima, in 1591. He inaugurated the first part of the third Lima Cathedral on 2 February 1604.
He assembled thirteen diocesan synods and three provincial councils. He was seen as a champion of the rights of the natives against the Spanish masters. "There was great opposition to Turibius from the governors of Peru whose authority he challenged," Elizabeth Hallam has written. "He learned local dialects so that he could communicate with–and convert–the native peoples, and he was a strong and effective champion of their rights."[#endnote_hallam]
Years before he died, he predicted the day and hour of his death. At Pacasmayo he contracted fever, but continued labouring to the last, arriving at Sana (or Santa) near Lima in a dying condition. Dragging himself to the sanctuary he received the Viaticum, expiring shortly after 23 March 1606.
Veneration
| Saint Turibius de Mongrovejo | |
|---|---|
| |
| Bishop and confessor | |
| Born | Mayorga de Campos, Spain |
| Died | 1606, near Lima |
| Beatified | 2 July 1679 by Pope Innocent XI |
| Canonized | 1726 |
| Feast | March 23 |
| Attributes | episcopal robes |
| Patronage | Native rights; Latin American bishops; Peru |
Turibius de Mogrovejo was beatified by Pope Innocent XI in 1679 and canonized by Benedict XIII in 1726.
His liturgical feast was once celebrated on 27 April, and currently on March 23.
His cult was once confined mainly to South America, but now more widespread because of his pioneering reforms.
Notes
- ↑ Elizabeth Hallam (ed.), Saints: Who They Are and How They Help You (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994), 27.
Sources and reference
- This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia.
- [TURIBIUS of Mogroveio]
- redirect
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