Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo
Bishop
- Feast Day
- March 23
- Life
- 1538–1606
- Canonized
- 1726
- Born
- Mayorga, Kingdom of Castile, Spain
Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo y Robledo was born on November 16, 1538, at Mayorga in the Kingdom of Castile. He studied law at Valladolid and Salamanca and was named by King Philip II as chief judge of the Inquisition tribunal at Granada, a civil post he held while still a layman.
In 1579 he was nominated to the metropolitan see of Lima, the principal see of Spanish South America. Reluctantly accepting, he received the necessary ordinations and was consecrated bishop, arriving at Lima in May 1581.
His twenty-five-year episcopate was characterized by exhaustive pastoral visitation. He traveled some forty thousand miles, often on foot, through the mountains and jungles of his immense province, learning indigenous languages in order to instruct the people directly. He convoked thirteen diocesan synods and three provincial councils, of which the Third Council of Lima (1582-1583) produced a trilingual catechism in Spanish, Quechua, and Aymara, the first book printed in South America.
He confirmed Saint Rose of Lima and Saint Martin de Porres and ordained Saint Francis Solano. Turibius died on March 23, 1606, at Sana while on pastoral visitation. He was beatified by Pope Innocent XI in 1679 and canonized by Pope Benedict XIII on December 10, 1726. Pope Saint John Paul II named him patron of the Latin American episcopate.
Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo is a model of episcopal reform in the spirit of the Council of Trent. His pastoral visitation, his synods, and his insistence on instruction in native languages set the pattern for the Catholic missionary effort in the Americas and demonstrated that evangelization required entering the cultures of the peoples to whom the gospel was preached. His patronage over the Latin American episcopate, conferred by Saint John Paul II, formally recognizes him as the model bishop of the New World.
Patronages
Latin American bishops · Peru · indigenous peoples of the Americas
Catholic Churches Named After Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo
3 parishes on Catholic Church Times share Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo's name. Find their Mass times, confession schedules, and adoration hours:
- Saint Turibius Roman Catholic Church — Chicago, IL
- St. Turibius — Chicago, IL
- Saint Turibius Roman Catholic Church — Los Angeles, CA
Sources