ST. TURIBIUS OF MOGROVEJO

St. Turibius of Mogrovejo

He was a Spanish Missionary born on November 16, 1538 in Leon, Spain. He was born in a noble family and was highly educated. He became the professor of law at the University of Salamanca. Then he was appointed as the Grand Inquisitor of Spain by king Philip-II on the Court of Inquisitor at Grenada. He was later ordained a priest in 1578 and was sent to Peru. He was then made the arch-bishop of Lima, Peru in May, 1579. He visited all the places in his diocese mainly on foot and often alone. He baptized more than five million people, when he was bishop. The notable persons he baptized include St. Rose of Lima and St. Martin de Porres. He founded the seminary at Lima in the year1591 and also built many hospitals and convents. He learnt the local language to communicate with the people, to convert them to Christianity. He also worked as a champion of the rights of the local people. He was very strict about spending the time and used to say Time is not our own and we must give a strict account for it. He predicted the date and time of his death years before. He died in Lima, Peru on March 23, 1606.

He was beatified on July 2, 1679 by pope Innocent-XI and canonized by pope Benedict-XIII in the year 1726.