Mar 23, 2012

β›ͺ Saint Turibius of Mogroveio

β›ͺ Saint of the Day : March 23
 Saint Turibius of Mogroveio,
Pray for us !

 β›ͺ Other Names :
β€’ Turibius of Lima β€’ Toribio β€’ Turribius Alphonsus β€’ Turybiusz β€’ Turibio de Mogrovejo

 β›ͺ Born : 
β€’ 1538 at Mayorga de Campos, Leon, Spain

 β›ͺ Died : 
β€’ 23 May 1606 at Santa, Peru of natural causes

 β›ͺ Patronage :
β€’ Latin American bishops β€’ Native rights β€’ Lima, Peru β€’ Peru

 An unusual thing happened to him that changed his whole life. He was asked to become the archbishop of Lima, Peru. First of all, he was not a priest. Second, Peru was in far away South America. This happened because Lima needed an archbishop. Many people in the Church realized that Turibius had the qualities for such a trusted position. He begged to be excused from the honor. But when he learned about the miserable condition of the native people of Peru, he could not refuse. He wanted to help them and to bring them the faith. He was ordained a priest and set out for Peru.

As archbishop, St. Turibius traveled all over the country. He made his way over the snowy mountains on foot. He walked over the hot sands of the seashore. He built churches and hospitals. He started the first school in Latin America for the training of priests. Such a school is called a seminary. He learned the different native languages. He wanted the people to be able to listen to homilies at Mass and go to confession in their own language. He protected the natives who were often cruelly treated by their Conquerers.

St. Turibius loved the people of Peru. He spent the rest of his life as a priest and bishop for them. He died on March 23, 1606, at the age of sixty-eight. St. Turibius was proclaimed a saint by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726.

We may hear the expression, "God works in mysterious ways." St. Turibius went from being a judge in Spain to becoming archbishop

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