- José Antonio Benito Rodríguez, Instituto de Estudios Toribianos
St. Toribio Mogrovejo is the patron saint of Latin American bishops by decision of St. John Paul II. The Pope Francis has called the second archbishop of Lima a "great evangelizer". He promoted the dignity of the Indians in America, and the liturgy celebrates him on March 23.
Equalization in America
To gauge the figure of Mogrovejo, it is not enough to compare him with some of his contemporary saints, bishops (Thomas of Villanova, Charles Borromeo or John of Ribera). But with others such as St. Ambrose (not only because of the unexpected and surprising manner of his choice).
Or those who have built Christian Europe in times of upheaval, such as St. Isidore of Seville, St. Benedict or the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius. Fidel González (Diccionario de Historia Cultural de la Iglesia en América Latina).
A personal experience
On Sunday, December 29, 2024, I was enraptured in front of the canvas of Ribera in the church of the Purisima. I wanted to process with the faithful of the Diocese of Salamanca to cross the holy door of the Cathedral. And to gain the indulgence of the Jubilee Year 2025 of Hope.
Thirty years had passed since my stay in Peru and almost 300 years since the canonization of Saint Toribio Mogrovejo. And it was precisely in this temple - due to its proximity to the Colegio Mayor de Oviedo where he was educated - that Salamanca celebrated it. There was a crowded octavario accompanied by fireworks and even two bullfights in the Plaza Mayor.
The news moved
When, on December 10, 1726, Pope Benedict XIII issued the bull Quoniam Spiritus canonized Saint Toribio, The news moved the vast metropolitan see of Lima and the entire Church of Latin America.
Salamanca vibrated with enthusiasm because it felt vividly the imprint of his passage through the classrooms. And the Colegio Mayor de San Salvador de Oviedo, with its rector, Nicolás Guerrero, at the head, celebrated the event. On July 21, 1727 - some eight months after the canonization, in December 1726 - Salamanca organized the most splendid academic spectacle of a religious nature.
Prudent legislator and zealous shepherd
Our protagonist is located in the Spain of the Habsburgs, and more specifically, in the Spain of Philip II. It seems that he was born on November 16, 1538, in the town of Mayorga (Valladolid). It is a crossroads between the current autonomous communities of Castilla-León, Asturias, Cantabria and Galicia.
In 1551 he began his studies of Grammar and Humanities in Valladolid, capital of the Hispanic world. In 1562 he went to Salamanca where he was taught by his uncle Juan Mogrovejo, a university professor. In 1569 he obtained a bachelor's degree in Canons and in 1571, he made a pilgrimage to Compostela, and graduated in Law.
When he was studying for his doctorate at the Colegio San Salvador de Oviedo, in 1574, he was appointed Apostolic Inquisitor for Granada. In 1580, he became archbishop. He was 39 years old and needed a hurried priestly ordination for his episcopal consecration.
Seminary, pastoral visits
In 1581 he arrived in Paita and entered Lima on May 12. In 1583 the Third Limense Council takes place, from which three great publications in Quechua, Aymara and Spanish emanate: the catechism, the sermonary and the confessional.
In 1584 he began his first pastoral visit. In 1591 he undertook a decisive work, the creation of the Seminary which, dedicated at the time to St. Toribio of Astorga, today bears his name. He felt, above all, that he was a shepherd ready to give his life for his sheep. To this end, he created new parishes.
Training
Likewise, it will promote institutions for the formation of spiritual, academic and social leaders. In monasteries such as Santa Clara, hospitals such as San Pedro, the University of San Marcos, the Casa del Divorcio (Divorce House) ..... In 1593 he began the second visit and in 1605 the third. He died in 1606, on March 23rd, in Saña. The following year, 1607, on April 27, he was buried in Lima. In 1679 he was beatified and in 1726, canonized.
Inspiration from shepherds
The Latin American Plenary Council at the end of the 19th century is a good example of the high esteem in which the Latin American episcopate holds it. It took place when, for the first time in its history, bishops from Latin America met in Rome, with the desire to prepare the new Christian century of America.
The bishops granted it this consideration at the third conference of the CELAMIn 1978, in Puebla: "A bishop, Saint Toribio de Mogrovejo, is a factor of the first order in this fundamental milestone of the Latin American Church; because of his freedom from the State, his intelligence and will to serve, he is a model and inspiration for pastors".
Patron of Bishops
Five years later, on May 10, 1983, the Holy Father John Paul II granted him the title of Patron of the Bishops of Latin America. Likewise, he is proposed as a paradigm for the pastors of Peru and America.
The message pronounced by the Holy Father himself to all the bishops of Peru in 1985 reflects this. His great task consisted in carrying out, enlightened by the Council of Trent, the first evangelization of the New World in four dimensions. Evangelization for holiness, for unity in fidelity, for the dignity of the person, and in constant harmony with the Apostolic See.
Life and missionholiness
St. John Paul II calls attention to what is essential and fundamental for authentic renewal: holiness. He recognizes that "the greatest gift that America has received from the Lord is faith, which has been forging its Christian identity [...] The expression and the best fruits of America's Christian identity are its saints" (Ecclesia in America nn.14 and 15).
When he visited Peru (in 1985 and 1988), he focused his messages to the bishops on recreating the life and mission of Saint Toribio as a model of holiness. The first emphasizes his intercultural spirituality, the coherence of a holy life, promoter of human rights, forger of communion among them and in tune with Rome.
Benedict XVI, on the occasion of the fourth centenary of his passage to glory in 2006, emphasized that "his self-sacrificing dedication to the edification and consolidation of the ecclesial communities of his time...".
A life as a movie
For his part, the current Pope Francis, during his visit to Peru in January 2018, pointed out that the bishop, like Moses, is the courageous shepherd who leads his people to the "promised land". He knew how to cross borders, geographical, cultural and, above all, that of fraternal love: "He is the pastor who knew how to load 'his suitcase' with faces and names. They were his passport to heaven.".
Two years later, at the conclusion of the Synod of the Amazon, he will propose it again as a model of evangelization. "Thus, the kerygma and fraternal love make up the great synthesis of the whole content of the Gospel that cannot fail to be proposed in the Amazon. This is what great Latin American evangelizers such as Saint Toribio de Mogrovejo and Saint Joseph of Anchieta lived" (Dear Amazonia nn. 62-66).
Still almost unknown
Providentially, the most important document of the Vatican magisterium for evangelization and catechesis-the General Directory for Catechesis-was published on his feast day, March 23, 2020, as he acknowledges in his presentation.
"By a completely fortuitous event, the approval of the present Directory took place in the liturgical memory of St. Toribio de Mogrovejo (1538- 1606). He understood his episcopal ministry as an evangelizer and catechist" (Congregation for the Clergy, Vatican, 2020).
In spite of recognizing such great values, and dedicating thousands of hours of research and dissemination to his life and work, I feel that Saint Toribio Mogrovejo is almost unknown in the civil and religious world.
