View source for Turibius of Mogrovejo

{{Short description|Spanish prelate}}
{{Redirect|Saint Turibius|other saints with this name|Turibius (disambiguation){{!}}Turibius}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type        = Bishop
| honorific-prefix = [[Saint]]
| name        = Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo
| title       = [[Archbishop of Lima]]
| image       = Santo Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo, Arzobispo de Lima.jpg
| alt         =
| caption     =
| church      = [[Catholic Church]]
| archdiocese = [[Archdiocese of Lima|Lima]]
| diocese     =
| see         = [[Archdiocese of Lima|Lima]]
| term        =
| appointed   = 16 May 1579
| enthroned   = 24 May 1581
| term_end    = 23 March 1606
| predecessor = [[Diego Gómez de Lamadrid]]
| successor   = [[Bartolomé Lobo Guerrero]]
<!--   Orders   -->
| ordination     = 1578
| ordained_by    =
| consecration   = 23 August 1580
| consecrated_by = [[Cristóbal Rojas Sandoval]]
| rank           = [[Bishop (Catholic Church)|Bishop]]
<!---------- Personal details ---------->
| birth_name       = Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo
| birth_date        = 16 November 1538
| death_place       = [[Saña District|Saña]], [[Viceroyalty of Peru]], [[Spanish Empire]]
| death_date        = {{Death date and age|1606|3|23|1538|11|16|df=y}}
| birth_place       = [[Mayorga, Spain|Mayorga de Campos]], [[Kingdom of León]], [[Habsburg Spain]]
| buried           = Lima Cathedral, Peru
| resting_place_coordinates = 12.05° S, 77.03° W
| nationality      = Spanish
| religion         = Roman Catholic
| residence        =
| parents          = Luis Alfonso de Mogrovejo and Ana de Roblès i Morán
| spouse           =
| children         =
| occupation       = Priest
| profession       =
| education        = Law
| alma_mater       = {{unbulleted list|[[University of Coimbra]]|[[University of Valladolid]]|[[University of Salamanca]]}}
| motto            =
| signature        =
| signature_alt    =
| coat_of_arms     =
| coat_of_arms_alt =
<!---------- Sainthood ---------->
| feast_day        = {{unbulleted list|23 March|27 April (Former)}}
| venerated        = [[Roman Catholic Church]]
| saint_title      =
| beatified_date   = 2 July 1679
| beatified_place  = [[Rome]], [[Papal States]]
| beatified_by     = [[Pope Innocent XI]]
| canonized_date   = 10 December 1726
| canonized_place  = Rome, Papal States
| canonized_by     = [[Pope Benedict XIII]]
| attributes       = Episcopal attire
| patronage        = {{Hlist|[[Peru]]|[[Lima]]|Latin American bishops|Native rights|Scouts|[[Valladolid (province)|Valladolid]]}}
| shrine           =
| suppressed_date  =
}}
{{Ordination
| ordained deacon by =
| date of diaconal ordination =
| place of diaconal ordination =
| ordained priest by =
| date of priestly ordination = 1578
| place of priestly ordination =
| consecrated by = [[Cristóbal Rojas Sandoval]]
| co-consecrators =
| date of consecration = 23 August 1580
| place of consecration = [[Seville Cathedral|Seville]], [[Seville]], [[Habsburg Spain]]
| elevated by =
| date of elevation =
| sources =
| bishop 1 = [[Alfonso Guerra (bishop)|Alfonso Guerra]], O.P.
| consecration date 1 = 12 August 1582
| bishop 2 = [[Bartolomé Martinez Menacho y Mesa]]
| consecration date 2 = 4 September 1588
| bishop 3 = [[Alfonso Fernández de Bonilla]]
| consecration date 3 = 1593
| bishop 4 = [[Luis López de Solís]], O.E.S.A.
| consecration date 4 = 3 April 1594
| bishop 5 = [[Alonso Ramírez Vergara]], O.S.
| consecration date 5 = 1595
| bishop 6 = [[Reginaldo de Lizárraga]], O.P.
| consecration date 6 = 24 October 1599
| bishop 7 = Juan de La Roca
| consecration date 7 = 1601
}}
'''Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo''' (16 November 1538 – 23 March 1606) was a [[Catholic Church in Spain|Spanish Catholic]] prelate who served as [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lima|Archbishop of Lima]] from 1579 until his death.<ref name=SQPN>{{cite web|url=https://catholicsaints.info/saint-turibius-of-mogroveio|title=Saint Turibius of Mogroveio|publisher=Saints SQPN|date=28 July 2017|access-date=16 October 2017}}</ref>
He first studied in the Humanities and Law before being appointed as a university professor. At the behest of [[Philip II of Spain|King Philip II]], he went on to become [[Grand Inquisitor]], considered unusual given no previous government or judicial experience. His piety and learning had reached the ears of the king.<ref name="SQPN" /><ref name="TA">{{cite web|publisher=Tradition in Action|title=St. Toribio de Mogrovejo, March 23|author=[[Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira]]|access-date=16 October 2017|url=http://www.traditioninaction.org/SOD/j013sdSt.Toribior3-23.htm}}</ref> His distinguished work for the Inquisition earned him praise from the king, who nominated him for the vacant Lima archdiocese. This was confirmed by the pope, under protest from Turibius.<ref name="SEB">{{cite web|url=http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/26500|title=San Turibio de Mogrovejo|publisher=Santi e Beati|access-date=16 October 2017}}</ref>
Mogrovejo was [[ordained]] to the [[priesthood]] in 1578, and consecrated as an archbishop in 1580, before setting off for [[Viceroyalty of Peru|Peru]] to begin his mission. An eminent and charismatic preacher, he set about [[Baptism|baptising]] and [[Catechism|catechising]] the [[Indigenous peoples of Peru|indigenous people]]. He [[Confirmation|confirmed]] almost half a million people; these included [[Rose of Lima]] and [[Martin de Porres]].<ref name=SQPN/><ref name=TA/>
A staunch advocate for reform, Turibius set to work restoring some order to the priests of his diocese. He led the worst offenders away from various immoral routines and scandals, meanwhile instituting new educational programmes in priestly training.<ref name=SEB/><ref name=CM>{{cite news|url=http://www.crisismagazine.com/2014/st-toribio-de-mogrovejo-apostle-peru|date=21 August 2014|title=St. Toribio de Mogrovejo: Apostle of Peru|first=Joseph F.X. |last=Sladky|work=[[Sophia Institute Press#Crisis magazine|Crisis Magazine]]}}</ref>
After his death, his reputation for holiness and learning lived on, leading to calls for his [[Canonization|canonisation]]. [[Pope Innocent XI]] [[Beatification|beatified]] the late archbishop, and [[Pope Benedict XIII]] canonised him as a saint on 10 December 1726.<ref name=SQPN/><ref name=SEB/>
==Life==
===Education===
Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo was born 16 November 1538 in Mayorga in the [[Valladolid (province)|Valladolid]] province of [[Habsburg Spain]]. He was named after [[Turibius of Astorga]].<ref name=CM/> His parents were of aristocratic lineage: Luis Alfonso de Mogrovejo (1510–1568) and Ana de Roblès i Morán (1515–???). Turibius' sister was Grimanese de Mogrovejo i Robledo (1545–1635).[[File:Monumento Santo Toribio.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Bust of Turibius at his birthplace in Mayorga de Campos, Valladolid.]]
As a child, he was recognised as pious, with a strong devotion to the [[Blessed Virgin]]. In her honour, he fasted once a week and recited the [[rosary]] often.<ref name=TA/>
His education befitted a patrician at the time; he entered [[University of Valladolid|the college]] at Valladolid in 1550, where he studied Humanities.<ref name=SQPN/><ref name=CM/> At the [[University of Salamanca]], he studied Law, and subsequently joined its faculty. His uncle Juan de Mogrovejo served as a professor there, as well as at the San Salvador High School in [[Oviedo]].
[[John III of Portugal|King Juan III]] invited Juan him to teach at [[University of Coimbra|the college]] in [[Coimbra]]. Turibius accompanied his uncle there, and studied at the college in Coimbra before returning to Salamanca sometime later. His uncle died shortly thereafter.<ref name=SEB/> In February 1571 Turibius’ learning and virtuous reputation encouraged [[Philip II of Spain|King Philip II]] to appoint him Grand Inquisitor on the [[Inquisition|Inquisition Court]] at [[Granada]].<ref name=SQPN/><ref name=TA/>
===Episcopate===
It was not long before Philip II nominated him for the vacant Lima archbishopric, despite his strong protests. Knowledge of canon law prompted him to remind both king and pope that priests alone could be delegated ecclesial dignities, but the [[Holy See]] prevailed.<ref name=CM/> Preparations were made for him to be [[ordained]] before the formal announcement.<ref name=TA/> He was [[ordained]] to the [[priesthood]] in 1578 in Granada (after four weeks’ successively ascending the [[minor orders]]). On 16 May 1579, [[Pope Gregory XIII]] named him [[Archbishop of Lima]]; he was [[episcopal consecration|consecrated]] in August 1580 by the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seville|Archbishop of Seville]], [[Cristóbal Rojas Sandoval]].<ref name=SEB/>
====Vast territory====
On 12 May 1581, the new archbishop arrived in [[Paita]]. Covering 1,340,000 square kilometres, the diocese was huge, incorporating mountains, jungle and coastline. It was extremely difficult to administer from the capital on the coast. Apart from Spanish, the official tongue, most commonly spoken were [[Quechuan languages|Quechua]], [[Kichwa language|Kichwa]], [[Aymara language|Aymara]], [[Puquina language|Puquina]] and [[Mapuche language|Mapuche]]. Mogrovejo began his new mission travelling the 970&nbsp;km (600&nbsp;mi) to Lima on foot, all the while baptising and teaching the local people (even had he managed to average 24&nbsp;km per day, the journey to Lima would have taken six weeks). A week after he arrived, he was enthroned in his new [[Episcopal see|see]].<ref name=SEB/><ref name=SQPN/> His favourite saying was: "Time is not our own and we must give a strict account of it". Allowing him to make even better use of his time after 1590 was the assistance of the missiomnary Franciscan,  [[Francis Solanus]].
Alone and on foot he traversed his entire archdiocese three times, regardless of inclement weather, ferocious wildlife or tropical heat. He also had to deal with fevers, and was often threatened by hostile tribes. He faced these, all the while baptising and confirming almost half a million people. Among these were [[Rose of Lima]], [[Martin de Porres]], [[Juan Masías]] and [[Francis Solano]], who later became a close friend. All would come to be [[canonization|canonised]].<ref name=SQPN/>
Visiting each parish, he would go straight to the church to pray before the altar, and check the condition of all objects used in divine worship, before talking with the priest about the life of the parish. He would then check the parish registers. He made a point of checking that the priest was using the missal that [[Pope Pius V]] (in 1570, more than ten years before Turibius' arrival in the viceroyalty) had ordered should be used.<ref name="CM" /> It took seven years to complete Turibius' first visitation.<ref>Farmer DH. (2011) Oxford Dictionary of Saints. 5th Ed Revd. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. {{ISBN|978-0-19-959660-7}}.</ref> His second visitation took four years, but the third was shorter.
Turibius organised for the building of roads and schools as well as chapels and hospitals. He ensured these could be staffed from nearby convents, also instituted by him. Turibius' concern for the very poorest (see next section) extended also to destitute Spanish. Their seeking assistance was constrained by the colony's social norms. Succour from Turibius arrived nevertheless, often without the source coming to light.
====Indigenous people====
The start of Turibius' episcopate almost coincided with the end of eleven years under the viceroyalty of [[Francisco de Toledo]], the fifth viceroy. His administration had had a negative impact on the indigenous peoples of Peru,<ref>Wightman, AM. (1990) Indigenous Migration and Social Change: The Forasteros of Cuzco, 1570-1720. Duke University Press. Durham, New Carolina. {{ISBN|9780822382843}}.</ref> the cost of his bringing political and economic order that had him dubbed as the "best of Peru's viceroys".<ref>Tantaleán Arbulú, J. (2011) El Virrey Francisco de Toledo y su tiempo. 2 Tomos. Universidad de San Martín de Porres. Lima. {{ISBN|978-612-4088-17-9}}. https://www.elvirrey.com/libro/el-virrey-francisco-de-toledo-y-su-tiempo-2-tomos_86988</ref> In Lima, remote from the vast hinterland, was an exploitative society, derived from the ''[[encomienda]]'' tradition. Mine operators and merchant princes lived an opulent lifestyle, thriving on the enforced labour of the indigenous people. Toledo had taken advantage of the pre-existing practice of forced labour under the [[mit'a]] of the [[Inca Empire]],<ref>Under the Incas, everyone had to work without pay for state enterprises for a certain period of time.</ref> and had expanded it. Called "reductions", Toledo's policy had forcibly relocated many of the indigenous peoples into new settlements, to gather labour to work in mines and other Spanish enterprises, to collect tributes and taxes, and to enforce their [[Christianization|Christianisation]].<ref>[[Luis E. Valcárcel|Valcárcel LE.]] (1940) The viceroy Toledo, great tyrant of Peru: a historical review. Lima, National Museum Press. Encyclopedia Britannica. Viceroyalty of Peru. Historical area, South America. https://www.britannica.com/place/Viceroyalty-of-Peru. Accessed 25 March 2024.</ref>
Against this, Turibius was seen as a champion of the rights of the natives. The Spanish had been attracted from their homeland to make their fortunes. They were left with no effective constraint on their using almost any means in their power. Turibius often came across shocking examples of tyranny, maltreatment and cynical indifference to Christian precepts of morality. Redress for abuses by officials was nigh-on impossible. The distance from Spain was insuperable, and communication within the viceroyalty was via sparse roads in a vast territory. He learned the local dialects and fought for rights and liberties, confronting the viceroy's power and control. He was even persecuted by the civil authorities but his patient persistence prevailed.
Eventually Turibius was rewarded with some success. The eighth viceroyal, [[García Hurtado de Mendoza, 5th Marquis of Cañete|García Hurtado de Mendoza]] made efforts to "crack down on the oppression of the indigenous population at the hands of the Spanish colonizers.<ref>Ordinances Issued by the Marquis of Cañete, Viceroy of the Kingdom of Peru, as a Remedy for the Excesses That the Judges of the Natives Commit When They Deal and Bargain with the Indians and the Damages as Well as the Grievances That the Indians Endure. Lima, Peru, 1614. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021666924</ref>"
====Clerical formation====
Partly because of a dearth of good priests, there were among the indigenous people enormous numbers who were baptised but who knew little of the christian religion. Realising that some clerical behaviour had grown too scandalous to countenance, Mogrovejo sought reformation of priests under his charge. Some came to resent this, though support and assistance was forthcoming from the viceroy. In 1591 he founded the first seminary in the Western Hemisphere. He insisted that learning indigenous languages was a prerequisite.<ref name=CM/><ref name=SQPN/>
====Archdiocesan leadership====
At Philip II's request he oversaw the Third Provincial Council from 1582 to 1583. He served as president, guiding rather than leading it. Two more provincial councils in 1591 and in 1601 were organised by Turibius. Mogrovejo inaugurated the third [[Lima Cathedral]] (i.e. the second rebuild) on 2 February 1604. His tenure also saw thirteen diocesan synods and three provincial councils.
Sometimes civil and ecclesiastical jurisdiction conflicted. Turibius fell out with García Hurtado de Mendoza, the viceroy for six years from 1590. The seminary school was not established without a fight over whether the entrance was to be surmounted by the coat of arms of the bishop, or that of the king. There was also a row over the [[excommunication]] of Juan Ortiz de Zárate, mayor of Lima, after he had ordered that a suspected criminal should be taken by force from a church where he had sought refuge.
====Tridentine reforms====
Mogrovejo worked to push through the ambitious aims from the Council of Trent, making evangelisation a core theme of his episcopate.<ref name="CM" /> He produced a trilingual catechism in Spanish/Quechuan/Aymara in 1584, implementing Trent's call for preaching in indigenous languages.<ref name="SQPN" /><ref name="TA" /> He endorsed the council's decree of excommunication for clerics who engaged in business ventures; these often exploited the indigenous people.
In 1588 Pope Sixtus V confirmed the acts of the Third Council of Lima, implementing Trent's decrees. These acts from Lima were adopted by many South American dioceses{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}.
===Death===
Mogrovejo foresaw the exact date and hour of his death. It was in [[Pacasmayo]] during a pastoral visit that he contracted a fever. He continued working to the end of that visit, and arrived at the Saint Augustine convent<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/zana | title=The Not-So-Abandoned Town of Zaña }}</ref> in [[Zaña]] in a critical condition.<ref name=SQPN/> He pulled himself up to receive the [[Viaticum]], and died shortly thereafter at 3:30 pm on 23 March 1606 ([[Holy Thursday]]). His final words were those of [[Jesus Christ]] on the cross, as in Luke 23:46: "Lord, into Your hands I commit my spirit"<ref name=TA/><ref name=SEB/> His remains were interred in the archdiocesan cathedral in Lima.
==Sainthood==
Mogrovejo's [[beatification]] was celebrated under [[Pope Innocent XI]] in 1679 (ratified in the [[papal bull]] "''Laudeamus''"). In the papal bull "''Quoniam Spiritus''", [[Pope Benedict XIII]] [[Canonization|canonised]] him as a saint on 10 December 1726.<ref name=SQPN/>
At one time celebrated on 27 April, Turibius' liturgical feast is nowadays on 23 March. His cult was once limited mainly to [[South America]], but his pioneering and enduring reforms have now made this more widespread.
In 1983, [[Pope John Paul II]] proclaimed him patron saint of the Latin American episcopate.<ref name=SEB/>
==See also==
{{Portal bar|Biography|Catholicism|Saints|History|Spain|Peru}}
* [[List of Catholic saints]]
*[[Mogrovejo]]
* [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lima]]
* [[Portal:Catholic Church/Patron Archive/March 23|Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo, patron saint archive]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* {{CathEncy|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14781a.htm|title=St. Toribio Alfonso Mogrovejo}}
* [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bmogr.html Catholic Hierarchy] [[Wikipedia:SPS|{{sup|[''self-published'']}}]]
* [http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/TURIBIUS.htm Lives of the Saints]
* [http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=2357 Catholic Online]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070312235736/http://es.encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArticle.aspx?refid=961532099 Short biography at MSN Encarta] {{in lang|es}}
* [http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160518082739/http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saintofday/ American Catholic]
{{Catholic|wstitle=St. Toribio Alfonso Mogrovejo}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-rel|ca}}
{{succession box
|title  = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lima|Archbishop of Lima]]
|before = [[Diego Gómez de Lamadrid]]
|after  = [[Bartolomé Lobo Guerrero]]
|years  = 16 May 1579 – 23 March 1606}}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turibius Of Mongrovejo}}
[[Category:1538 births]]
[[Category:1606 deaths]]
[[Category:16th-century Christian saints]]
[[Category:16th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Peru]]
[[Category:17th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Peru]]
[[Category:16th-century venerated Christians]]
[[Category:17th-century Christian saints]]
[[Category:17th-century Spanish clergy]]
[[Category:17th-century venerated Christians]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic archbishops of Lima]]
[[Category:Bishops appointed by Pope Gregory XIII]]
[[Category:Colonial Peru]]
[[Category:Spanish Roman Catholic bishops in South America]]
[[Category:Spanish Roman Catholic saints]]
[[Category:University of Coimbra alumni]]
[[Category:University of Salamanca alumni]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Salamanca]]
[[Category:University of Valladolid alumni]]
[[Category:16th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Peru]]
[[Category:Canonizations by Pope Benedict XIII]]
[[Category:Beatifications by Pope Innocent XI]]