Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo (16 November 1538 – 23 March 1606) was a
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
prelate
A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...
of the Catholic Church who served as the
Archbishop of Lima from 1579 until his death.
He first studied in the humanities and law before serving as a professor and later as the
Grand Inquisitor
Grand Inquisitor ( la, Inquisitor Generalis, literally ''Inquisitor General'' or ''General Inquisitor'') was the lead official of the Inquisition. The title usually refers to the chief inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition, even after the reuni ...
at the behest of
King Philip II. His piety and learning had reached the ears of the king who appointed him to that position which was considered unusual since he had no previous government or judicial experience.
His noted work for the Inquisition earned him praise from the king who nominated him for the vacant Lima archdiocese. The pope confirmed this despite his protests.
Mogrovejo was ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...
to the priesthood in 1578 and was later consecrated as an archbishop in 1580 before setting off for Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
to begin his mission. He was a noted and charismatic preacher who set about baptizing
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
and catechizing the natives while confirming almost half a million people; these included Rose of Lima and Martin de Porres
Martín de Porres Velázquez (9 December 1579 – 3 November 1639) was a Peruvian lay brother of the Dominican Order who was beatified in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI and canonized in 1962 by Pope John XXIII. He is the patron saint of mixed-r ...
.[ The archbishop was a staunch advocate for archdiocesan reform and set to work reforming the diocesan priests from impurities and scandals while instituting new educational procedures for ]seminaries
A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...
.
He predicted the exact date and hour of his death. His reputation for holiness and learning was never forgotten, and it led to calls for his canonization. Pope Innocent XI beatified the late archbishop and Pope Benedict XIII
Pope Benedict XIII ( la, Benedictus XIII; it, Benedetto XIII; 2 February 1649 – 21 February 1730), born Pietro Francesco Orsini and later called Vincenzo Maria Orsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 May ...
canonized him as a saint on 10 December 1726.[
]
Life
Education
Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo was born on 16 November 1538 in the Valladolid
Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peop ...
province of Habsburg Spain, to the nobles Luis Alfonso de Mogrovejo (1510–1568) and Ana de Roblès i Morán (1515–???); his sister was Grimanese de Mogrovejo i Robledo (1545–1635). He was named after Turibius of Astorga
Saint Turibius of Astorga ( es, Santo Toribio de Astorga; ''fl.'' 446, died 460) was an archdeacon of Tui and an early Bishop of Astorga. Turibius was a zealous maintainer of ecclesiastical discipline, and defender of the Nicene Christianity agai ...
.[
He was noted as a pious child with a strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin. He fasted once a week in her honor and recited rosaries often.][ He received an education befitting a noble at the time; he entered the college at Valladolid in 1550 where he studied humanities.][
He became a professor teaching law to students at the reputed college in ]Salamanca
Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Herit ...
. His uncle Juan de Mogrovejo served as a professor there as well as at the San Salvador High School in Oviedo, before King Juan III invited him to teach at the college in Coimbra
Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of .
The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto, and Braga, it is the largest cit ...
. Toribio accompanied his uncle there and studied at the college in Coimbra before returning to Salamanca sometime later. His uncle died not long after he returned to Salamanca for his studies.[ His learning and virtuous reputation led to King Philip II appointing him as the Grand Inquisitor on the Inquisition Court stationed at Granada in February 1571.][ He remained in that position until 1576 but not without impressing the king with his work.
]
Episcopate
During this time Philip II nominated him for the vacant Lima archbishopric, despite his strong protests. He used his knowledge of canon law to remind the king and the pope that priests alone could be designated with ecclesial dignities, but the pope overruled him.[ Preparations were made for him to be ]ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...
before the formal announcement could be made.[ He was ]ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...
to the priesthood in 1578 in Granada (after four consecutive weeks of receiving the minor orders
Minor orders are ranks of church ministry. In the Catholic Church, the predominating Latin Church formerly distinguished between the major orders —priest (including bishop), deacon and subdeacon—and four minor orders—acolyte, exorcist, lec ...
) and Pope Gregory XIII
Pope Gregory XIII ( la, Gregorius XIII; it, Gregorio XIII; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585), born Ugo Boncompagni, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for ...
named him on 16 May 1579 as the Archbishop of Lima; he received his episcopal consecration
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
in August 1580 from the Archbishop of Seville Cristóbal Rojas Sandoval.[ In September 1580 he departed for ]Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
alongside his sister and her husband.
The new archbishop first arrived in Paita
Paita is a city in northwestern Peru. It is the capital of the Paita Province which is in the Piura Region. It is a leading seaport in the region. Paita is located 1,089 km northwest of the country's capital Lima, and 57 km northwest o ...
on 12 May 1581 which was 600 miles – or 970 kilometers – from Lima. He began his new mission travelling to Lima on foot while he baptized and taught the natives. He was enthroned in his new see a week later.[ His favorite topic was: "Time is not our own and we must give a strict account of it". He traversed his entire archdiocese three times on foot and alone, exposed to tempests and torrents as well as the wild beasts and tropical heat. He also had to deal with ]fever
Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a temperature above the normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature set point. There is not a single agreed-upon upper limit for normal temperature with sources using val ...
s, and often with threats from hostile tribes. He countered these, all the while baptizing and confirming almost one half million people, including Rose of Lima, Martin de Porres
Martín de Porres Velázquez (9 December 1579 – 3 November 1639) was a Peruvian lay brother of the Dominican Order who was beatified in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI and canonized in 1962 by Pope John XXIII. He is the patron saint of mixed-r ...
, Francis Solano (who later became a close friend), and Juan Masías, all of whom would be canonized
Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...
.[
He built roads and schoolhouses as well as chapels and hospitals, and established ]convents
A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican C ...
for them to live in. In 1591 he founded the first seminary
A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...
in the Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the te ...
and mandated that learning indigenous languages was a prerequisite in their formation.[ He inaugurated the first part of the third Lima Cathedral on 2 February 1604. He also assembled thirteen diocesan synods and three provincial councils during his tenure. He was seen as a champion of the rights of the natives against the Spanish masters. He learnt the local dialects and was seen as a champion for rights and liberties, in challenge to the Peruvian governors' power and control.
Mogrovejo sought the reformation of diocesan priests and found that some of their behavior had grown too scandalous to be continued. There were those priests who came to resent him for this, though ]Francisco de Toledo
Francisco Álvarez de Toledo ( Oropesa, 10 July 1515 – Escalona, 21 April 1582), also known as ''The Viceroyal Solon'', was an aristocrat and soldier of the Kingdom of Spain and the fifth Viceroy of Peru. Often regarded as the "best of P ...
supported his reform efforts and rendered him assistance.[ At the request of Philip II he also oversaw the Third Provincial Council from 1582 to 1583. He served as the council's president, guiding rather than leading it; he drafted important conciliar documents.
Mogrovejo also worked to implement the decrees from the ]Council of Trent
The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described a ...
and made evangelization a core theme in his episcopal career. He produced a trilingual catechism in Spanish/Quechuan
Quechua (, ; ), usually called ("people's language") in Quechuan languages, is an indigenous language family spoken by the Quechua peoples, primarily living in the Peruvian Andes. Derived from a common ancestral language, it is the most widely ...
/Aymara
Aymara may refer to:
Languages and people
* Aymaran languages, the second most widespread Andean language
** Aymara language, the main language within that family
** Central Aymara, the other surviving branch of the Aymara(n) family, which today ...
in 1584, implementing Trent's call for preaching in indigenous languages. He endorsed the council's decree which prescribed excommunication
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...
of clerics who engaged in business ventures, since these often exploited natives for work and profit. Pope Sixtus V in 1588 confirmed the acts of the Third Council of Lima which implemented Trent's decrees. Many dioceses in South America adopted these acts from Lima.
Mogrovejo held two more provincial councils in 1591 and in 1601. Mogrovejo made three pastoral visitations that were all extensive in time. He visited each parish and would first inspect all objects for divine worship (to be in good condition) before talking to the parish priest about the life of the parish. He would then check the parish registers and also see if the priest had the missal that Pope Pius V
Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...
had mandated over a decade prior.
Death
He predicted the exact date and hour of his death. It was in Pacasmayo
Pacasmayo is a city in Northern Peru, in the Pacasmayo province, La Libertad Region. It is located 108 km north of Trujillo city.
Transportation
*Panamerican Highway, connects with north and south the country.
*Pacasmayo Port, connects to ...
during a pastoral visit that he contracted a fever but continued labouring to the last and arrived at Zaña
Zaña (also Saña) is the capital of Zaña District in the Chiclayo Province of Lambayeque region in northern Peru. It is located inland from the Pacific Ocean at an elevation of in the valley of the Zaña River. Zaña had a population of 4,5 ...
in a critical condition.[ He dragged himself to receive the ]Viaticum
Viaticum is a term used – especially in the Catholic Church – for the Eucharist (also called Holy Communion), administered, with or without Anointing of the Sick (also called Extreme Unction), to a person who is dying; viaticum is thus a part ...
and died not long after this on 23 March 1606 (Holy Thursday
Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday (also known as Great and Holy Thursday, Holy and Great Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, among other names) is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of the ...
) at 3:30 pm at the Saint Augustine convent. His final words were those of Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
on the Cross: "Lord, into Thy hands I commend my spirit".[ His remains are interred in the archdiocesan cathedral.
]
Sainthood
His beatification was celebrated under Pope Innocent XI in 1679 (ratified in the papal bull "''Laudeamus''"), and Pope Benedict XIII
Pope Benedict XIII ( la, Benedictus XIII; it, Benedetto XIII; 2 February 1649 – 21 February 1730), born Pietro Francesco Orsini and later called Vincenzo Maria Orsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 May ...
canonized him as a saint on 10 December 1726 through the papal bull "''Quoniam Spiritus''".[ His liturgical feast was once celebrated on 27 April but is now celebrated on 23 March. His cult was once confined for the most part to ]South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
but is now more widespread because of his pioneering reforms. Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
proclaimed him the patron saint for the Latin American episcopate in 1983.[
]
See also
* List of Catholic saints
This is an incomplete list of people and angels whom the Catholic Church has canonized as saints. According to Catholic theology, all saints enjoy the beatific vision. Many of the saints listed here are to be found in the General Roman Cale ...
* Mogrovejo
* Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lima
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lima ( la, Archidioecesis Limana) is part of the Roman Catholic Church in Peru which enjoys full communion with the Holy See. The Archdiocese was founded as the Diocese of Lima on 14 May 1541. The diocese was r ...
* Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo, patron saint archive
References
External links
*
Catholic Hierarchy
Lives of the Saints
Catholic Online
Short biography at MSN Encarta
American Catholic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turibius Of Mongrovejo
1538 births
1606 deaths
16th-century Christian saints
16th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Peru
17th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Peru
16th-century venerated Christians
17th-century Christian saints
17th-century Spanish clergy
17th-century venerated Christians
Roman Catholic archbishops of Lima
Bishops appointed by Pope Gregory XIII
Colonial Peru
Spanish Roman Catholic bishops in South America
Spanish Roman Catholic saints
University of Coimbra alumni
University of Salamanca alumni
University of Salamanca faculty
University of Valladolid alumni
Venerated Catholics
16th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Peru
Canonizations by Pope Benedict XIII
Beatifications by Pope Innocent XI