Mar 23, About Today for Tuesday of the 5th week of Lent

March 23

Saint Turibio de Mogrovejo, Bishop

Optional Memorial

Today we honor St. Turibio of Mogrovejo, a Spanish bishop born in 1538. The son of noble parents, he studied canon and civil law. He taught law at the prestigious University of Salamanca in Madrid and was a counselor to the Inquisition in Granada. Phillip II selected him to be archbishop of Lima, a position for which his moral and intellectual virtues qualified him, although he first needed to receive Holy Orders. He sailed to the New World and arrived at Lima in 1581.

Throughout Lima and his entire diocese, he pioneered services for the welfare of the native peoples. He founded schools, churches, hospitals, and convents as well as organized a road system. He learned the Quechua language and required all parish priests to do the same. Traveling extensively throughout the mountainous regions of his archdiocese, he baptized countless people including St. Rose of Lima and St. Martin de Porres. He founded the New World’s first seminary, located in Lima, in 1591. St. Turibio Mogrovejo died in 1606 and was canonized by Benedict XIII in 1726. [1][2]

Written by Sarah Ciotti
Reviewed by Fr. Hugh Feiss, OSB, STD
[1] Catholicpedia: The Original Catholic Encyclopedia (1917) for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. s.v. “St. Toribio Alfonso Mogrovejo”
[2] Fr. Hugh Feiss, OSB, The Martyrology of the Monastery of the Ascension, 2008.
Note: Optional Memorials and Commemorations are optional celebrations and, at present, we do not include content specific to these special days. This “About Today” is provided so that you can celebrate this Saint as you worship Christ.