Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo ( Saint Toribio de Mogrovejo)
Today we celebrate the feast day of St. Turibius who was a Bishop and was known for defending the rights of the Indigenous people in Peru. St. Turibius and St. Rose of Lima are actually the first known saints who served in the "New world". St. Turibius served the Lord in Peru for around 26 years.
St. Turibius was born in Mayorga, Spain he studied law, to become a lawyer. St. Turibius was such a successful scholar that he was able to become a law professor at the University of Salamanca. Later on he was able to become the chief judge of a inquisition in Granda, Spain which was under King Philip ll of Spain.
A couple years later the archdiocese in Lima, Peru was looking to acquire a new leader, and St. Turibius was actually chosen to take that position during the year 1580. St. Turibius was truly called by God to fix the many scandals that had occurred in the area he was in. Through his many prayers and trust in God, he gained the strength and the holiness that he needed to accomplish God’s will and bring more people to God.
In 1581 after St. Turibius was ordained a priest and a bishop, he was sent to Peru. When he arrived he noticed that the Spanish conquerors were guilty of abusing and oppressing the indigenous population in Peru. Also St. Turibius noticed that much corruption was occurring in the clergy. Therefore he grew in his zeal to make a difference and he devoted himself completely to reforming the archdiocese and he was extremely determined to providing all the aid and help he could to the poor and he made sure that he also defended the rights of all the indigenous people who were suffering greatly.
During St. Turibius’ mission, he founded churches, hospitals, schools and also a seminary in the “New World”. Also to assure that he would be able to preach and bring other people to the faith St. Turibius learned many types of Indigenous dialects.
Also some of the people that St. Turibius helped even though they may have been extremely vulnerable, they were still sensitive and dreaded accepting charity from others. Therefore St. Turibius would serve these people anonymously and never let anyone know what he did or how he helped them. Which shows how humble and loving he was to other people.
St. Turibius during his life is said to have gone to confession every morning, and is said to have celebrated Mass with a lot of reverence and love to Christ. He is also said to have given the Sacrament of Confirmation to St. Rose of Lima and St. Martin de Porres.
St. Turibius was a very humble, loving and strong saint who gave his life fully and completely to God so that he may guide more people to God and help other people get through the difficult and challenging moments they had to endure in their lives. St. Turibius feast day is celebrated on March 23.
Prayer to St. Turibius:
St. Turibius intercede that we may be able to open ourselves completely to God so that we may allow him to enter our lives so that he may show us what he has planned
for us and so that he may guide us on our journey to sainthood. Help us to be able to win more souls for Christ regardless of how many issues or difficulties we may encounter. Help us to live a life of devotion to God so that we may find the strength and faith from him that we need to accomplish the mission that he has planned for us. St. Turibius help us to be more understanding so that we may follow God’s will regardless of how confusing or hard it may look, help us to trust that God will provide us with the tools we need to accomplish his plan.
We ask this through Christ Our Lord and Mary Our Mother in Heaven
Amen
St. Turibius pray for us
St. Joseph pray for us
May we continue to strengthen our journey to sainthood and keep others in our prayers.
Works cited:
Information (read from, not taken):
Catholic Online. “St. Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo.” St. Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online. Accessed 23 March 2021.
Images:
Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo. March 23, 2021.
Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo. March 23, 2021.
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