St. Turibius

Law Professor and Judge at Granada

St. Turibius of Mogrovejo was born on November 16, 1538, at Mayorga in the kingdom of León, Spain. A gifted student of the humanities and law, he became a professor at the University of Salamanca, and his reputation for learning and integrity led King Philip II to appoint him — though still a layman — chief judge of the Inquisition's court at Granada, an extraordinary post for one not in holy orders.

Named Archbishop of Lima as a Layman

An even more extraordinary appointment followed. In 1579 he was named Archbishop of Lima, the immense see covering much of Spanish South America. Despite his protests that he was not even a priest, he was ordained, consecrated bishop, and arrived in Peru in 1581. He found a diocese stretching hundreds of miles along coast, desert, and Andean highland, a colonial clergy in need of reform, and indigenous peoples suffering grave abuses at the hands of the conquerors.

Visitations, the Third Council, and Native Languages

Turibius gave the rest of his life to that flock. He is said to have traveled some forty thousand kilometers on visitation, much of it on foot or muleback through difficult terrain, baptizing and confirming hundreds of thousands — among them, tradition holds, St. Rose of Lima and St. Martin de Porres. He convoked the Third Council of Lima (1582–1583), whose decrees shaped the Church in Latin America for centuries, and he produced a trilingual catechism in Spanish, Quechua, and Aymara, insisting that the Gospel be preached to the peoples of Peru in their own languages. He championed the rights of the indigenous population against exploitation, founded the first seminary in the Americas at Lima in 1591, and learned the native tongues himself.

Death on Visitation at Saña

He died on March 23, 1606, at Saña in northern Peru, while on yet another pastoral visitation. He was beatified in 1679 and canonized on December 10, 1726, by Pope Benedict XIII. In 1983 Pope John Paul II named him patron of the Latin American episcopate. His relics rest in the cathedral of Lima, and his feast is celebrated on March 23.

Significance

Turibius shows what it means for a bishop to know and love his people in person. Crossing deserts and mountains to reach his scattered flock, he defended indigenous peoples against abuse, insisted that they hear the Gospel in their own languages, and laid foundations that guided the Church in Latin America for centuries. As patron of that region's bishops, he calls every pastor to tireless presence, courage for justice, and respect for each culture.