Saint Alphonse Turibe de
Mogrovejo
Archevêque de Lima (+ 1606)
Turibio de Mongrovejo fut un grand bienfaiteur des indiens du Pérou, qui
avaient fort à souffrir de la cupidité des Espagnols qui avaient conquis leur
pays.
Originaire de Mayorga en Espagne, il fut nommé, par le roi Philippe II,
archevêque de Lima, un diocèse grand comme la moitié de la France. Il visita
trois fois ses fidèles chrétiens d'origine indienne. Cela durait chaque fois
sept ans.
Il lutta contre les autorités royales, ouvrit un séminaire, fit prendre
conscience aux chercheurs d'or qu'ils ne devaient pas les traiter comme des
esclaves. Doux, patient, habile, d'un courage indomptable, il transforma l'état
des choses au Pérou, rendant à tous leur dignité d'hommes.
(...)
Mémoire de saint Turibio de Mogrovejo, évêque de Lima. Homme de loi, né en
Espagne, il était encore laïc quand il fut nommé à ce siège au Pérou. Il gagna
l’Amérique et, brûlant de zèle, il visita plusieurs fois son immense diocèse,
souvent à pied, avec une vigilance assidue pour le troupeau qui lui était
confié. Il extirpa dans des synodes les abus et les scandales dans le clergé,
défendit fermement l’Église, convertit et catéchisa les peuples indigènes et
mourut à Saña en 1606, au cours d’une visite pastorale.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/849/Saint-Alphonse-Turibe-de-Mogrovejo.html
Vista
de la escultura de santo Toribio de Mogrovejo en el Palacio Arzobispal de Lima.
Turibe-Alphonse, second fils du seigneur de Mongrovejo, naquit le 18 novembre 1538 à Mayorga, dans la province espagnole de Léon. Il fut porté vers la piété et l’horreur du péché dès l'enfance où il éprouvait un très vif bonheur en ornant les autels et en servant les pauvres. Fort dévôt à la Sainte Vierge dont il récitait chaque jour son office et le rosaire, il jeûnait tous les samedis. Lorsqu’il faisait ses études à Valadolid et à Salamanque, il donnait une partie de son dîner aux pauvres.
Bien que laïc, Philippe II le nomma président du tribunal de l'Inquisition à Grenade où il resta cinq ans avant d'être nommé, contre sa volonté, archevêque de Lima, capitale du Pérou ; Philippe II pensant que Turibe-Alphonse de Mongrovejo était le seul homme capable de faire cesser les scandales des conquistadores qui empêchaient la conversion des Péruviens.
Turibe-Alphonse de Mongrovejo se prépara à recevoir les ordres ; il voulut recevoir les quatre ordres mineurs en quatre dimanches différents pour avoir le temps d’en remplir les fonctions ; il reçut ensuite les ordres majeurs puis il reçut la consécration épiscopale après laquelle il s'embarqua pour l'Amérique où il arriva en 1581.
Son immense diocèse (cinq cent vingt kilomètres, le long des côtes) était alors un lieu de scandales et de dépravations où il fut d'autant plus mal accueilli que chacun savait que le Roi l'avait nommé pour y mettre de l'ordre. Les conquistadores s’étaient très mal conduits envers les indigènes qu’ils avaient tyranisés ; des guerres civiles et des dissensions domestiques s’en étaient suivies, les mœurs étaient dans un état déplorable et le clergé ne donnait guère le bon exemple.
Avec rigueur et patience, Turibe-Alphonse de Mongrovejo, supportant les persécutions de l'administration et des colons espagnols, prit des mesures fermes qui arrêtèrent dans Lima le cours des scandales publics ; aux Espagnols qui, pour excuser leur dureté et leurs abus, invoquaient la coutume, il répondait : « Jésus-Christ s’appelle la vérité et non la coutume ; à son tribunal, nos actions seront pesées dans la balance du sanctuaire. » Avec un zèle infatigable qui fut couronné de succès, pendant sept ans, il visita son diocèse, montrant l’exemple de la pénitence et de la piété. Il réussit à réformer son clergé qu’il réunit tous les deux ans pour des synodes diocésains et tous les sept ans pour des synodes provinciaux ; il fonda des séminaires, des églises, des écoles et des hôpitaux. Il fit encore deux visites de son diocèse, de cinq ans chacune, et obtint la conversion de très nombreux Indiens.
Turibe-Alphonse de Mongrovejo qui se confessait tous les matins, avant de célébrer la messe, faisait de sa vie une prière continuelle. Il tomba malade, au cours d'une visite pastorale à Santa, à quatre cent quarante kilomètres de Lima ; il distribua ses biens et se fit porter à l’église pour recevoir le viatique ; on le ramena dans la maison où il reçut l’extrême-onction et mourut le 23 mars 1606. L’année qui suivit sa mort, on transporta sa dépouille que l’on trouva sans corruption, à Lima où il fit plusieurs miracles. Béatifié par Innocent XI, en 1679, Turibe-Alphonse de Mongrovejo fut canonisé par Benoît XIII, en 1726.
SOURCE : http://missel.free.fr/Sanctoral/03/23.php
Saint Alphonse Turibe de Mogrovejo, évêque
Alfonso de Mogrovejo né à Majorque en Espagne en 1538. Il étudie à Valladolid, puis à l’Université de Salamanque où il devient professeur de droit. En 1571, même s’il est toujours laïc, le roi Philippe II lui offre de devenir juge en chef de la cour ecclésiastique de l’Inquisition à Grenade. Puis, en 1580, il est sélectionné pour faire partie d’une mission d’évangélisation au Pérou. Il refuse d’abord, prétextant qu’il ne peut faire partie d’une telle mission puisque laïc. Il est donc ordonné prêtre, puis consacré évêque, et enfin envoyé à Lima où il débarque en 1581. Il s’intègre très bien aux populations locales qu’il traite avec respect. Par trois fois, il mena une vaste visite pastorale de sept ans pour rencontrer chacun des fidèles, dans un diocèse immense. Il sut s’opposer au pouvoir royal et aux potentats locaux, il fonde de nombreuses églises, monastères et hôpitaux, de même qu’un des premiers séminaires sur le sol américain. Doux, patient, habile, d'un courage indomptable, il transforma l'état des choses au Pérou, rendant à chacun sa dignité d'homme. Il tombe malade alors qu’il se trouve à Pacasmayo et décède peu de temps après en 1606.
Monument
to St. Toribio of Mogrovejo in his natal village, Mayorga (Province of
Valladolid, Spain).
Monumento
a Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo en su localidad natal de Mayorga (Provincia de Valladolid,
España).
Pérou : IVe centenaire de
la mort de saint Turibe de Mogrovejo
Message de Benoît XVI
24 AVRIL 2006REDACTIONÉglise
catholique
ROME, Lundi 24 avril 2006
(ZENIT.org)
– Le « Catéchisme de saint Turibe », a constitué « un instrument
extraordinairement efficace pour instruire dans la foi des millions de
personnes au cours des siècles », affirme Benoît XVI dans un message à l’Eglise
du Pérou.
Turibe (Toribio) Alphonse
de Mogrovejo, archevêque de Lima, (+ 1606), est en effet fêté le jour
anniversaire de sa « naissance au ciel », le 23 mars, date du message de Benoît
XVI.
Espagnol, originaire de
Mayorga en Espagne, il fut nommé archevêque de Lima par le roi Philippe II.
Pourtant, il combattit l’autorité royale pour défendre les populations, et il
fit comprendre aux chercheurs d’or espagnols qu’ils ne devaient pas traiter les
autochtones en esclaves.
Il est en effet connu
pour sa sollicitude envers les populations autochtones d’origine indienne, dont
il visita les communautés chrétiennes à trois reprises : des visites pastorales
de 7 ans à chaque fois !
Doux, patient, habile,
courageux, il réussit à imposer sa vision de la dignité humaine au Pérou. Et
pour s’assurer des collaborateurs idoines, ouvrit un séminaire.
Dans son message, Benoît
XVI souligne que ce IVe centenaire constitue une « occasion providentielle »
pour fortifier les différents diocèses du pays.
Il souligne que ce saint
archevêque de Lima « s’est distingué par son esprit d’abnégation » et son
dévouement « pour l’édification et la consolidation des communautés ecclésiales
de son temps ».
« Il l’a toujours fait,
ajoutait le pape, avec un grand esprit de communion et de collaboration en
cherchant l’unité comme le démontre sa convocation du IIIe concile provincial
de Lima (1582-1503), qui a laissé un héritage précieux pour ce qui concerne la
doctrine et les normes pastorales ».
Un des grands fruits de
cet événement a été, soulignait le pape, le « Catéchisme de saint Turibe », qui
s’est ensuite révélé être « un instrument extraordinairement efficace pour
instruire dans la foi des millions de personnes au cours des siècles et de façon
solide, et en accord avec la doctrine authentique de l’Eglise, en unissant en
profondeur et en dépit des différences, ceux qui s’identifient parce qu’ils ont
« un seul Seigneur, une seule foi un seul baptême » (cf. Ep. 4, 5) ».
Le pape soulignait cet
autre fruit du « concile provincial »: « Conscient du fait que la vitalité de
l’Eglise dépend en grande partie du ministère de ses prêtres, le saint
archevêque a fondé le séminaire conciliaire de Lima, encore en activité
aujourd’hui ».
Le pape a exprimé son
espérance de le voir continuer à porter des fruits abondants en particulier à
une époque où il est urgent de promouvoir les vocations au sacerdoce et à la
vie consacrée, pour assumer la tâche importante de constituer des communautés
chrétiennes qui se réunissent dans la joie pour la célébration dominicale, qui
s’approchent des sacrements, qui aient soin de leur vie spirituelle,
transmettent et cultivent la foi, donne un témoignage d’espérance ferme et
pratiquent toujours la charité ».
Benoît XVI a également
évoqué le profond esprit missionnaire de saint Turibe, qui n’hésita pas à
apprendre plusieurs langues pour prêcher personnellement à tous ceux qui
étaient confiés à sa sollicitude pastorale, mais, a précisé le pape, c’était en
même temps un signe de respect pour la dignité de toute personne humaine, de
toute condition, cherchant à susciter le sens d’être des enfants de Dieu ».
Enfin, le pape invoquait
la Vierge Marie, « afin qu’elle protège le Peuple de Dieu qui demeure dans les
terres latino-américaines et les guide vers la joie de vivre la foi dans le
Christ pleinement et de façon cohérente ».
SOURCE : https://fr.zenit.org/articles/perou-ive-centenaire-de-la-mort-de-saint-turibe-de-mogrovejo/
%2C_RP-P-OB-38.636.jpg)
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Also
known as
Turibius of Lima
Turibius…
Toribio Alfonso..
Turribius Alphonsus…
Turybiusz…
Turibio…
formerly 27 April
19
February (Ambrosian Rite)
Profile
Born to the
nobility. Lawyer. Professor of law at Salamanca, Spain. Ordained in 1578 at
age 40. Judge of the Court of the Inquisition at Granada, Spain. Archbishop of Lima, Peru on 15 May 1579.
Founded the first seminary in
the Western hemisphere. Fought for the rights of
the natives against the Spanish masters.
Organized councils and synods in the New World.
Born
1538 at
Mayorga de Campos, Leon, Spain
23 May 1606 at
Santa, Peru of
natural causes
2 July 1679 by Pope Innocent
XI
10
December 1726 by Pope Benedict
XIII
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MLA
Citation
“Saint Turibius of
Mogroveio“. CatholicSaints.Info. 31 October 2021. Web. 20 March 2023. <http://catholicsaints.info/saint-turibius-of-mogroveio/>
SOURCE : http://catholicsaints.info/saint-turibius-of-mogroveio/
%2C_RP-P-OB-38.638.jpg)
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St. Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo (1538-1606)
Bishop and defender of the rights of the native
Indians in Peru. He founded schools, churches, hospitals, and the first
seminary in the New World. To assist his pastoral work among the Indians, he
also mastered several Indian dialects. Together with Rose of Lima, Turibius is
the first known saint of the New World, serving the Lord in Peru, South
America, for 26 years.
Born in Spain and educated for the law, he became so brilliant a scholar that
he was made professor of law at the University of Salamanca and eventually
became chief judge of the Inquisition at Granada. He succeeded too well. But he
was not sharp enough a lawyer to prevent a surprising sequence of events.
When the archdiocese of Lima in Peru required a new leader, Turibius was chosen
to fill the post: He was the one person with the strength of character and
holiness of spirit to heal the scandals that had infected that area.
He cited all the canons that forbade giving laymen ecclesiastical dignities,
but he was overruled. He was ordained priest and bishop and sent to Peru, where
he found colonialism at its worst. The Spanish conquerors were guilty of every
sort of oppression of the native population. Abuses among the clergy were
flagrant, and he devoted his energies (and suffering) to this area first.
He began the long and arduous visitation of an immense archdiocese, studying
the language, staying two or three days in each place, often with neither bed nor
food. He confessed every morning to his chaplain, and celebrated Mass with
intense fervor. Among those to whom he gave the Sacrament of Confirmation was
St. Rose of Lima, and possibly St. Martin de Porres. After 1590 he had the help
of another great missionary, St. Francis Solanus.
His people, though very poor, were sensitive, dreading to accept public charity
from others. Turibius solved the problem by helping them anonymously.
SOURCE : http://www.ucatholic.com/saints/saint-turibius-of-mogrovejo/
%2C_RP-P-OB-38.639.jpg)
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St. Toribio Alfonso
Mogrovejo
Archbishop of Lima;
b. at Mayorga, León, Spain,
1538; d. near Lima Peru,
23 March 1606.
Of noble family and
highly educated,
he was professor of laws at
the University
of Salamanca, where his learning and virtue led
to his appointment as Grand Inquisitor of Spain by Philip
II and, though not ofecclesiastical rank,
to his subsequent selection for the Archbishopric of Peru.
He received Holy
Orders in 1578 and two years later was consecrated bishop.
He arrived at Payta, Peru,
600 miles from Lima,
on 24 May, 1581. He began his mission work by travelling to Lima on
foot, baptizing and
teaching the natives. His favourite topic being: "Time is
not our own, and we must give a strict account of it." Three times he
traversed the eighteen thousand miles of his diocese,
generally on foot, defenceless and often alone; exposed to tempests,
torrents, deserts,
wild beasts, tropical heat, fevers, and savage tribes; baptizingand confirming nearly
one half million souls,
among them St.
Rose of Lima, St. Francis Solano, Blessed Martin of Porres,
and Blessed Masias. He built roads, school houses, and chapels innumerable,
and many hospitals and convents,
and founded the first American seminary at Lima in
1591. He assembled thirteendiocesan synods and
three provincial
councils.
Years before he died, he predicted the day and hour of his death. At Pacasmayo he contracted fever, but continued labouring to the last, arriving at Sana in a dying condition. Dragging himself to the sanctuary he received the Viaticum, expiring shortly after. He was beatified by Innocent XI in 1697 and canonized byBenedict XIII in 1726. His feast is celebrated on 27 April.
Sources
DE HERRERA, Life of Toribio
Aymé,
Edward. "St. Toribio Alfonso Mogrovejo." The Catholic
Encyclopedia. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton
Company,1912. 23 Mar.
2016 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14781a.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by John Looby. Dedicated to Padre
Pablo Hagan, Vicar Episcopal de Caylloma.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. July 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2020 by Kevin
Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14781a.htm
%2C_RP-P-OB-38.640.jpg)
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Turibius Mongrovejo B (RM)
(also known as Toribio of Turribius of Lima)
Born in Mayorga, León, Spain, on November 16, 1538; died at Santa (Sana) near
Lima, Peru, on March 26 (or 23), 1606; beatified by Pope Innocent XI on June
28, 1679; canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726; feast day formerly on April
27.
Turibius (Toribio) Alphonsus was the son of Don Luis Alfonso de Mogrovejo and
Dona Ana de Robles y Moran. Although he was devoted from a young age, he had no
plans to become a priest. He studied at Valladolid and Salamanca, and was such
a successful student that he became a professor of law at the University of
Salamanca. In February 1571, although he was still a layman, King Philip II
appointed him the chief judge of the ecclesiastical court of the Inquisition at
Granada.
In 1580, when the authorities required an archbishop of strong character to
work to convert the Peruvians of Lima, they selected Turibius. He was horrified
by this decision, and he presented the canons forbidding the promotion of
laymen to Church offices to support his contention. He was overruled, however,
was ordained priest, consecrated bishop, and arrived in Lima, Peru, on May 24,
1581.
The saint proved to be a wise selection because he was a most zealous shepherd
of souls. Upon his arrival he was confronted with an enormous diocese of 18,000
square-miles--his first visitation took him seven years--and one in which the
Spanish were guilty of mistreatment of the native population. Undaunted he
began his work, traversing his entire diocese three times, generally on foot
because there were no roads, defenseless, and often alone, exposed to tempests,
torrents, deserts, wild beasts, tropical heat, and fevers.
He came into immediate conflict with the secular authorities over the treatment
of the Quechuans, whose rights he defended and whose dialects he learned to
speak. He found that many of the baptized Indians knew little or nothing about
Christianity and proceeded to evangelize them. He fought injustice and vice,
among the clergy as well as the laymen, and succeeded in eliminating many of
the worst abuses. At the same time, he helped Spaniards who were too proud to
ask for help in such a way that they were not aware of his assistance.
He himself baptized and confirmed nearly a million souls. He continuously studied
the various Indian dialects to assist in converting the native population.
Among his flock were Saint Rose of Lima, whom he befriended and confirmed,
Saint Francis Solanus, Saint Martin de Porres, and Saint John Massias.
He founded many churches, religious houses, and hospitals, and, in 1591,
founded the first American seminary in Lima. He also assembled 13 diocesan
synods. His favorite topic when preaching was: "Time is not our own and we
must give a strict accounting of it."
Turibius fell ill at Pacasmayo but worked to the end. On one of his journeys he
arrived at Sana in dying condition; he dragged himself to the sanctuary and
there received the viaticum, dying almost immediately thereafter. He left his
belongings to his servants and the rest of his property to the poor.
His cultus was strongly celebrated in Latin America on April 27, until his
feast was added to the universal calendar on March 23. He was selected for this
worldwide cultus as a type of pioneering missionary and reforming bishop, and
as a representative of South America, whose enormous Catholic population is
often forgotten (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Farmer, Schamoni,
White).
In art, Saint Turibius is
portrayed as a bishop kneeling on the altar steps, surrounded by angels (Roeder).
Saint Turibius is the patron saint of bishops of Latin American (White).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0323.shtml
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March 23
St. Alphonsus Turibius,
Bishop and Confessor
From his life by F.
Cyprian de Herrera, dedicated to Pope Clement X., and the acts of his
canonization.
A.D. 1606
[Archbishop of Lima.] ST. TORIBIO, or TURIBIUS ALPHONSUS MOGROBEJO,
was second son to the Lord of Mogrobejo, and born in the kingdom of Leon, on
the 16th of November, in 1538. From his infancy he discovered a strong
inclination to piety; and, in his childhood, it was his delight, at times of
recreation, to erect and adorn altars and to serve the poor. He trembled at the
very shadow of sin. One day, seeing a poor pedlar woman angry because she had
lost something out of her pack, he most movingly entreated and exhorted her,
that she would not offend God by passion; and, in order to appease her, gave
her the value of her loss, which he had begged of his mother for that purpose.
He was very devout to the Blessed Virgin, said every day her Office and Rosary,
and fasted every Saturday in her honour. Whilst at school, he usually gave part
of his slender dinner to the poor, and was so much addicted to fasting, that
his superiors were obliged, by strict commands, to compel him to moderate his
austerities. He began his higher studies at Valladolid, but completed them at
Salamanca. He was introduced early to the notice of King Philip II., honoured
by him with several dignities, and made president or chief judge at Granada.
This office he discharged during five years with so much integrity, prudence,
and virtue, that the eyes of the whole kingdom were fixed on him, and his life
in the world was a holy noviceship to the pastoral charge. The pressing
necessities of the infant church of Peru required a prelate who inherited, in a
distinguished manner, the spirit of the apostles; and the archbishopric of
Lima, falling vacant, Turibius was unanimously judged the person of all others
the best qualified to be an apostle of so large a country, and to remedy the
scandals which obstructed the conversion of the infidels. The king readily
nominated him to that dignity, and all parties concerned applauded the choice.
Turibius was thunderstruck at this unexpected news, and had no sooner received
the message, but he cast himself on the ground at the foot of his crucifix,
praying with many tears that God would deliver him from so heavy a burden,
which he thought absolutely above his strength. He wrote the most urgent
letters to the king’s council, in which he pleaded his incapacity, and other
impediments, and laid great stress on the canons, which forbid laymen to be
promoted to such dignities in the church. This humility it was that obtained
the succour of heaven by which he performed wonders in the service of souls.
Being compelled by obedience to acquiesce, he at length testified his
submission by falling on his knees and kissing the ground.
After a suitable preparation, he received the four minor orders on four
successive Sundays, the better to dispose himself for the functions of each; and
after passing through the other orders, he was consecrated bishop. Immediately
after which he set out for Peru, and landed at Lima, in the year 1581, of his
age the forty-third. That diocess is extended one hundred and thirty-leagues
along the coast, comprising three cities, and many towns and villages, with
innumerable cottages scattered over two ridges of the mountains of the Andes,
esteemed the highest and most rugged in the world. Some of the European
generals, who first invaded that country, were men who seemed to measure
everything by their insatiable avarice and ambition, and had so far lost all
sentiments of humanity towards the poor savages, that they deserved the name
rather of tyrants and plunderers than of conquerors. Civil wars and dissensions
completed the misfortune of that country; and covetousness, cruelty, treachery,
fraud, and debauchery seemed triumphant. Nor were the repeated orders of the
Spanish court able to redress these evils. The sight of these disorders moved
the good pastor often to tears, but his prudence and zeal overcame all
difficulties, extirpated public scandals, and made that kingdom a flourishing
portion of the Christian Church. Upon his arrival he immediately began a
visitation of his vast diocess: an undertaking of incredible fatigue, and
attended with many dangers. He often crept over the steepest and most rugged
mountains, covered with ice or snow, to visit some poor hut of Indians, and
give them suitable comfort and instruction. He travelled often on foot, and sometimes
barefoot, and by fasting and prayer never ceased to implore the divine mercy
for the salvation of the souls committed to his charge. He placed everywhere
able and zealous pastors, and took care that no one in the most remote corners
of the rocks should be left destitude of the means of instruction and of the
benefit of the sacraments. To settle and maintain discipline, he appointed
diocesan synods to be held every two years, and provincial synods every seven;
and was vigilant and severe in chastising the least scandal, especially of
avarice, in the clergy. Without respect of persons, he reproved injustices and
vice, and made use of all the means which his authority put into his hands, to
check the insolence of public sinners, and to protect the poor from oppression.
Many of the first conquerors and governors of Peru, before the arrival of the
most virtuous viceroy Francis of Toledo, were men who often sacrificed every
thing to their passions, and for their private ends. From some of these the
saint suffered many persecutions, and was often thwarted by them in the
discharge of his duty. But by the arms of meekness and patience he overcame all
affronts and injuries, and with an invincible constancy he maintained the
rights of justice and truth. He showed that many sinners misconstrued the law
of God to make it favour their passions; but that, as Tertullian observes,
“Christ calls himself the truth, not custom,” and will weigh our actions not in
the false balance of the world, but in the true scales of the sanctuary. Thus
he extirpated the most inveterate abuses, 1 and
established with so great fervour the pure maxims of the gospel, as to revive
in many the primitive spirit of Christianity. To extend and perpetuate the
advantages of religion, which by his zeal he had procured, he filled this
country with seminaries, churches, and many hospitals; but would never suffer
his own name to be recorded in any of his munificent charities or foundations.
When he was at Lima, he every day visited several hospitals, comforted and
exhorted the sick, and administered the sacraments. When a pestilence, though
that calamity is seldom known in Peru, raged in some parts of his diocess,
Turibius distributed his own necessaries in relieving the afflicted: he
preached penance, because sins are the cause of chastisements and infinitely
the worst of evils. He walked in the processions, bathed in tears, with his
eyes always on a crucifix, and offering himself to God for his flock; fasted,
watched, and prayed for them, without intermission, till God was pleased to
remove his scourge.
Nothing gave the saint so much pleasure as the greatest labours and dangers, to
procure the least spiritual advantage to one soul. Burning with the most
vehement desire of laying down his life for his flock, and of suffering all
things for him who died for us, he feared no dangers. When he heard that poor
Indians wandered in the mountains and deserts, he sought them out; and to
comfort, instruct, or gain one of them, he often suffered incredible fatigues
and dangers in the wildernesses, and boldly travelled through the haunts of
lions and tigers. He spent seven years in performing his first visitation: his
second employed him four years, but the third was shorter. He converted
innumerable infidels, and left everywhere monuments of his charity. In
travelling, he either prayed or discoursed on heavenly things. On his arrival
at a place, it was his custom to repair first to the church to pray before the
altar. To catechise the poor, he would sometimes stay two or three days in
places where he had neither bed nor any kind of food. He visited every part of
his vast diocess: and when others suggested to him the dangers that threatened
him from rocks, precipices, marshes, rivers, robbers, and savages, his answer
was that as Christ came from heaven to save man, we ought not therefore to fear
dangers for the sake of immortal glory. He preached and catechised without
intermission, having for this purpose learned, in his old age, all the various
languages of the barbarous nations of that country. Even on his journies he
said mass every day with wonderful fervour and devotion. He always made a long
meditation before and after it, and usually went to confession every morning;
though they who best knew his interior, testified, that they were persuaded he
had never in his whole life forfeited his baptismal innocence by any mortal
sin. He seemed to have God and the divine honour alone before his eyes in all
his words and actions, so as to give little or no attention to anything else;
by which means his prayer was perpetual. He retired in private to that exercise
often in the day, and for a long time together. In it his countenance seemed
often to shine with a divine light. The care with which he studied to disguise
and conceal his great mortifications and works of piety, was the proof of his sincere
humility. His munificence in relieving the poor of every class, especially
those who were too bashful to make their necessities publicly known, always
exhausted his revenues. The decrees of his provincial councils are monuments of
his zeal, piety, learning, and discretion: they have been ever since esteemed,
not only in the new world, but also in Europe, and at Rome itself, as oracles.
The flourishing state of the church of Peru, the great numbers of saints and
eminent pastors with which it abounded, and the establishment of innumerable
seminaries of piety and learning, and hospitals for the poor, were the fruit of
his zeal. If he did not originally plant the faith, he was at least the great
propagator of it, and the chief instrument of God in removing scandals and
advancing true piety in that vast country, which till then had been a land of
abominations; whilst Francis of Toledo, the great viceroy, first settled the
civil government in peace and tranquillity by salutary laws, which have
procured him the title of the Legislator of Peru. St. Turibius, in the
sixty-eighth year of his age, in 1606, during the visitation of his diocess,
fell sick at Santa, a town one hundred and ten leagues distant from Lima. He
foretold his death, and ordered him to be rewarded who should bring him the
first account from his physician that his recovery was despaired of. The ardour
of his faith, his hope, his love of his Creator and Redeemer, his resignation
and perfect sacrifice of himself, gathered strength in the fervent exercises
and aspirations which he repeated almost without ceasing in his illness. By his
last will he ordered what he had about him to be distributed among his
servants, and whatever else he otherwise possessed to be given to the poor. He
would be carried to the church, there to receive the holy Viaticum: but
received extreme unction in his sick bed. He often repeated those words of St.
Paul: I desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ. And in his
last moments he ordered to be sung, by his bed-side, those of the
Psalmist: I rejoiced in the things that were said to me: We shall go into
the house of the Lord. He died on the 23rd of March, repeating those other
words of the same prophet: Into thy hands I commend my spirit. His
body being translated the year after to Lima, was found incorrupt, the joints
flexible, and the skin soft. His historian, and the acts of the canonization,
mention many sick restored to their health, and a girl raised to life by him
whilst he was living: also many miracles wrought through his intercession after
his death. He was beatified by Innocent XI. in 1679, 2 and
solemnly canonized by Pope Benedict XIII. in 1726. On the miracles wrought by
his intercession, see Benedict XIV. 3 and
especially the acts of his canonization.
A pastor of souls must be careful to animate all his exterior actions and
labours in the service of his neighbour, with the interior spirit of
compunction, humility, zeal, charity, and tender devotion. Without this he
loses the fruit of all the pains he takes, and by them will often deserve only
chastisements in the world to come; so much will his intention and the
affections of his heart be infected with self-love, and depraved by various
imperfections, and secret sinister desires even in the most holy functions.
Therefore, a fervent noviciate, employed in the exercises of an interior life,
ought to be a part of the preparation for this state; and in the discharge of
his duties, a person ought always to unite contemplation with action, and
reserve to himself sufficient time for conversing with God and his own soul,
and taking a frequent review of his own interior. From his labours he must return
frequently to prayer, and constantly nourish in his soul a spirit of fervent
devotion, which will thus accompany all his exterior actions, and keep his
thoughts and affections always united to God. Those who are not faithful in
thus maintaining and improving in themselves an interior spirit of piety, and
in watching with fear and compunction over the motives of their own hearts,
will generally advance very little the kingdom of Christ in the souls of
others, and are in great danger of losing their own. This is what St. Bernard
feared in his disciple Pope Eugenius III. whom he conjured with tears never to
give himself up entirely to the care of others, so as not to live also for
himself; so to communicate a spirit of piety to others, as not to suffer it to
be drained in his own heart; to be a basin to hold it, not a pipe for it to run
through. 4 This
lesson is applicable, with due proportion to other states, especially that of
teaching the sciences, in which the exercises of an interior life are so much
the more necessary, as the employment is more distracting, more tumultuous, and
more exposed to the waves of vanity, jealousy, and other secret and petty
passions.
Note 1. The Indians were infamous for their debaucheries, and became so
fond of the Spanish wines, after having once tasted them, that to purchase a
small quantity they would give all their gold, and were never sober as long as
they had wine to drink. But their crimes, which justly provoked the anger of
heaven, could not justify the cruelty of their European enemies, in whom
avarice seemed to have extinguished the sentiments both of humanity and
religion. The missionary priests endeavoured in vain to put a stop to the
outrages of their countrymen; and the Dominicans carried repeated complaints
against them to the kings of Spain. At their remonstrances, Ferdinand, king of
Castile, declared the Indians free, and forbade the Spaniards to employ them in
carrying burdens, or to use a stick or whip in chastising them. The Emperor
Charles V. was prevailed upon to send into America severe orders and
regulations in their favour, but to very little effect. The officers, who
assumed the haughty titles of conquerors, of Mexico and Peru, would not be
controlled. Bartholemew de las Casas, a Dominican, and bishop of Chiapa, in New
Spain, made four fruitless voyages into Castile to plead the cause of the poor
Indians; he obtained ample rescripts from the king, and was constituted by him
protector general of the Indians in America. But these expedients proved too
weak against men who were armed. He therefore resigned his bishopric into the
hands of the pope, in 1551, and returned into the convent of his order at
Valladolid; where he wrote his books, On the Destruction of the Indians by the
Spaniards, and On the Tyranny of the Spaniards in the Indies, both dedicated to
King Philip II. The archbishop of Seville, and the universities of Salamanca
and Alcala forbade the impression of the answers which some had written to
defend the Spanish governors, on principles repugnant to the law of nature and
of nations. These books of las-Casas, being translated into French, were
scattered among the people in the Low Countries, who had taken up arms against
the Spaniards, and animated them exceedingly in their revolt. But the crimes of
some ought not to be imputed to a nation: and the same country which gave birth
to some monsters was most fruitful in saints, and produced the most zealous
apostles and defenders of the Indians. The great principle which las-Casas
defended in the emperor’s council, and in his writings, was, that the conquered
Indians could not, without injustice, be made slaves to the Spaniards, which
the king’s council and the divines agreed to with regard to those who had not
been taken armed in just wars. See the history of the isle of Saint Domingo, by
F. Charlevoix. [back]
Note 2. Bened. XIV. De Beatif. et Canoniz. l. 1. Append. p. 496. [back]
Note 3. De Servor. Dei Canoniz. Romæ, 1738. fol. t. 4. Tr. de Miraculis,
c. 16. p. 196. [back]
Note 4. Tuus esto ubique: concha esto, non canalis. S. Bern. l. de
Consid. [back]
Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73). Volume III: March. The Lives
of the Saints. 1866
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/3/231.html
%2C_RP-P-OB-38.643.jpg)
Turibius
de Mogrovejo knielend voor een altaar, Leven van de heilige Turibius de
Mogrovejo (serietitel)
prentmaker: anoniem, naar ontwerp van: Carlo Maratti, verlener van privilege:
Pauselijk hof, opgedragen door: Juan Francisco Valladolid (vermeld op object). Prentmaker:
Italië, naar ontwerp van: Italiëverlener van privilege: Rome. Datering: in
of na 1625Leven van de heilige Turibius de Mogrovejo (serietitel)
Pictorial
Lives of the Saints – Saint Turribius, Archbishop of Lima
Article
Turribius Alphonsus
Mogrobejo was born on the 6th of November, 1538, at Mayorga, in the kingdom of
Leon in Spain. Brought up in a pious family, where devotion was hereditary, his
youth was a model to all who knew him. A tender devotion to the Blessed Virgin
and a love of the poor marked this boy. He recited the Rosary and the Little
Office every day, and fasted every Saturday in honor of the Mother of God. As a
schoolboy he gave away his own food to relieve the poor. His life as a student
at Valladolid and Salamanca showed no relaxation from his early spirit of
prayer. All his leisure was given to devotion or to works of charity. His
austerities were great, and he frequently made long pilgrimages on foot. The
fame of Turribius as a master of canon and civil law soon reached the ears of
King Philip II, who made him judge at Granada. That monarch marked the exalted
virtue and ability of Mogrobejo. About that time the see of Lima, in Peru, fell
vacant, and among those proposed Philip found no one who seemed better endowed
than our Saint with all the qualities that were required at that city, where
much was to be done for religion. He sent to Rome the name of the holy judge,
and the Sovereign Pontiff confirmed his choice. Turribius in vain sought to
avoid the honor, and wrote a long treatise, which he forwarded to Rome, to show
how irregular it was to appoint a layman to such a position. The Pope, in
reply, directed him to prepare to receive holy orders and be consecrated. King
Philip was equally deaf to his appeals. Yielding at last by direction of his
confessor, he prepared by a long retreat to receive minor orders and the
subdeaeonship and deaconship. Then he was ordained priest and consecrated. He
entered Lima in 1587, and entered on his duties. All was soon edification and
order in his episcopal city. A model of all virtue himself, he confessed daily
and prepared for Mass by long meditation. The influence of the holy man was
soon felt. Saint Turribius then began a visitation of his vast diccese, which
he traversed three times, his first visitation lasting seven years and his
second four. He held provincial councils, adopting decrees framed with such
wisdom that his regulations were adopted in many countries. Saint Turribius
preached, catechized, and confirmed far and wide; he held diocesan synods, and
encouraged his bishops to do the same. Almost his entire revenues were bestowed
on his creditors, as he styled the poor, and he bore with intrepid patience the
vexatious opposition raised to many of his reforms, maintaining the liberties
of the Church with apostolical courage. While discharging with zeal his duties
of priest and bishop, he was seized with a fatal illness during his third
visitation, and died on the 23d of March, in the year 1666, at Santa, exclaiming,
as he received the sacred Viaticum: “I rejoiced in the things that were said to
me: ‘We shall go into the house of the Lord.'” His holy, austere, and devoted
life had made the people regard him as a saint and a constant benefactor. They
regarded him now as their patron in heaven, and miracles rewarded their faith.
The proofs of his holy life and of the favors granted through his intercession
induced Pope Innocent XI to beatify him, and he was canonized by Pope Benedict
XIII in the year 1726. Saint Turribius was a model for all states—as a holy
youth, as a pious and zealous layman, as a great and exemlary bishop.
MLA
Citation
John Dawson Gilmary Shea.
“Saint Turribius, Archbishop of Lima”. Pictorial
Lives of the Saints, 1922. CatholicSaints.Info.
14 December 2018. Web. 23 March 2021.
<https://catholicsaints.info/pictorial-lives-of-the-saints-saint-turribius-archbishop-of-lima/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/pictorial-lives-of-the-saints-saint-turribius-archbishop-of-lima/
%2C_RP-P-OB-38.644.jpg)
Turibius
de Mogrovejo knielend met een boek, Leven van de heilige Turibius de
Mogrovejo (serietitel)
prentmaker: anoniem, naar ontwerp van: Carlo Maratti, verlener van privilege:
Pauselijk hof, opgedragen door: Juan Francisco Valladolid (vermeld op object). Prentmaker:
Italië, naar ontwerp van: Italiëverlener van privilege:
Rome. Datering: in of na 1625Leven van de heilige Turibius de
Mogrovejo (serietitel)
St. Turibius de Mogrovejo
Feast day: Mar 23
Catholics in Latin America and throughout the world
will celebrate the life and ministry of St. Turibius of Mogrovejo on March 23. The
16th century bishop upheld the rights of Peru's indigenous peoples, and became
one of the first canonized saints of the Americas.
Turibius was born in
Spain during 1538, to a noble family in the kingdom of Leon. He frequently
prayed, fasted, and gave to the poor even as a child, and eventually developed
the daily habit of praying the Rosary along with the Little Office of the
Blessed Virgin Mary.
He went on to study law
at the University of Salamanca, and eventually served as a judge for five years
in the territory of Granada. His judicial wisdom and diligence drew the
attention of King Philip II, who wanted Turibius – who was still a layman – to
be consecrated as a missionary archbishop for the Spanish colony of Peru.
Turibius became greatly
dismayed, protesting to the king and Church authorities that he was not even a
priest and could not possibly accept the charge. In a series of letters, he
pled that he was not personally capable of serving as the Archbishop of Lima –
nor, he reminded them, did canon law permit a layman to become an archbishop.
Eventually, however, he
had little choice but to comply. He was consecrated as a bishop in 1581, at the
age of 43, and immediately left for Lima, Peru.
The new archbishop
undertook to travel throughout the rugged and mountainous diocese, where he
observed many of the worst effects of colonialism – both upon the enslaved and
oppressed natives, and on many of the colonists who seemed to have lost their
souls in the pursuit of wealth.
He responded with
constant prayer and penance, as he traveled throughout his territory
administering the sacraments, teaching the Catholic faith, and establishing
schools, seminaries and hospitals.
To the indigenous
Peruvians, the archbishop was a herald of the Gospel who held their lives as
more precious than their country's supplies of gold and silver. But to the many
colonists whose behavior showed no sign of their Catholic origins, he was a
prophetic scourge – whose efforts to awaken the public conscience earned him
rebukes and opposition.
Turibius ultimately
managed to make three visitations of his diocese, under rugged and dangerous
conditions, which occupied about half of his 25 years as Archbishop of Lima. He
united the Peruvian Church at an administrative level by holding several local
councils of its clergy, but was also known to spend days traveling to reach a
single individual with the message of Christ.
The archbishop became
seriously ill in 1606. He sensed that his death was imminent, and decreed that
his possessions should be distributed to the poor. St. Turibius died on March
23, and his body was found to be incorrupt the next year. He was declared a
saint in 1726, and is now regarded as the patron of native peoples' rights and
Latin American bishops.
SOURCE : https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-turibius-de-mogrovejo-186
Sebastiano
Conca, San Turibio divide l'acqua di un fiume (post 1726), [1] olio
su tela; Piacenza, Galleria Alberoni
Mar 23 – St Turibius
(1538-1606)
23 March, 2012
Summary: St Turibius
of Mogrovejo, Spain died on this day in 1606 at Santa (Peru). A professor of
law and a judge of the Inquisition in Spain, he was still a layman when
appointed archbishop of Lima, Peru. he became an outstanding missionary
reformer, building churches, hospitals, and the first seminary in the Americas.
Remembered for his determined opposition to ecclesiastical abuses and to
colonial exploitation, for his pastoral care and evangelisation of the
indigenous peoples in their own languages, and for his visitation of the vast
diocese.
Turibius was a
native of Mogrovejo in Spain. Until he was 43, he was a layman working as
a judge in the Inquisition in Granada in Spain.
Patrick Duffy tells
his story.
A layman appointed archbishop
Turibius was born at Mogrovejo in northern Spain, and from his
infancy was a pious child and generous to the poor. He studied at
Valladolid and Salamanca. King Philip II of Spain made him a judge of the
Inquisition at Granada and he discharged his duties with such integrity and
prudence that at the age of 43, though still a layman, he appointed him as
archbishop of Lima, Peru. He had to be rushed through the four minor orders and
the three major orders of deacon, priest and bishop in a matter of weeks.
An intrepid Missionary
Arriving in Lima in May 1581, Turibius directed the Church’s apostolate to
the native population. He learned the local language, Quechua, and did
most of his apostolic journeys on foot. His aim was to instruct the
people and hold synods to settle and maintain discipline. Many of the Spanish
generals in Peru were men of avarice and cruelty. Turibius fearlessly denounced
injustice and vice. His concern for the native population was not shared by the
Spanish civil authorities or even by many in the Church. They often
thwarted him in the discharge of his duty.
Training Clergy
Turibius founded schools and hospitals, as well as churches. As a
missionary he had enormous success mainly because he took the trouble to learn
native dialects. In 1591 he founded the first seminary for training
clergy in the Americas. This had a salutary influence in other South
American countries. His charity extended to the Spanish as well as
the indigenous population.
Influence
Turibius personally baptised and confirmed about half a million people, including
two of South America’s best known saints, St Rose of Lima and St Martin de
Porres!(shown here)
He died on Holy Thursday
1606 and was canonised in 1672. He is the patron saint of Peru.
SOURCE : https://www.catholicireland.net/saintoftheday/st-turibius-1538-1606/
Santo
Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo, Archbishop of Lima, Segunda mitad del siglo XVII,
94,6 x 73,4, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes / National Museum of
Fine Arts, Buenos
Aires
San Turibio de Mogrovejo Vescovo
- Memoria Facoltativa
Mayorga de Campos - León
(Spagna), 16 novembre 1538 (1536?) - Saña (Perú), 23 marzo 1606
Turibio de Mogrovejo
(1538-1606) fu chiamato all'episcopato da laico, mentre era giurista all'Università
di Salamanca e alla corte di Filippo II di Spagna. Su richiesta di questi
Gregorio XIII nel 1580 lo inviò a Lima, in Perù. Aveva 42 anni. Giunse alla
sede l'anno dopo e iniziò subito un'intensa attività missionaria. Nei suoi 25
anni di episcopato organizzò la Chiesa peruviana in otto diocesi e indisse
dieci sinodi diocesani e tre provinciali. Nel 1591 a Lima sorgeva per sua
volontà il primo seminario del continente americano. Incentivò la cura
parrocchiale anche da parte dei religiosi e fu molto severo con i sacerdoti
proni ai conquistadores. Fu, infatti, strenuo difensore degli indios. Morì tra
loro in una sperduta cappellina al nord del Paese. E' santo dal 1726. (Avvenire)
Patronato: Vescovi
Missionari
Emblema: Bastone
pastorale
Martirologio Romano: San
Turibio di Mogrovejo, vescovo di Lima: laico originario della Spagna, esperto
di diritto, eletto a questa sede andò in America; mosso da ardente zelo
apostolico, visitò più volte, spesso a piedi, la sua vasta diocesi provvedendo assiduamente
al gregge a lui affidato; debellò con dei sinodi gli abusi e gli scandali nel
clero; catechizzò e convertì gli indigeni, finché a Sanna in Perù trovò
l’estremo riposo.
Turibio nacque da nobile
famiglia a Maiorca (Spagna), nel 1538. Studiò Diritto nelle università di
Coimbra e Salamanca. Aveva 40 anni ed era Presidente del Tribunale di Granada
quando, su indicazione del Re Filippo II, il Papa Gregorio XIII lo nominò
Arcivescovo di Lima.
Precipitosamente, quasi
da un giorno all'altro, fu innalzato un semplice laico alla dignità di vescovo
della Santa Chiesa. Sono così le vie della Provvidenza, quando ella decide di
realizzare un'opera. Si verificò col giurista Turibio lo stesso che, poco
più di mille anni prima, si era verificato con lo statista Sant'Ambrogio: in
quattro domeniche consecutive, Turibio ricevette gli ordini minori; poche
settimane dopo fu ordinato presbitero e, infine, consacrato vescovo.
L'insigne giurista si fa
catechista
San Turibio di Mogrovejo
arrivò alla sua arcidiocesi nel maggio 1581. All'inizio dovette affrontare la
decadenza spirituale degli spagnoli colonizzatori, i cui abusi i sacerdoti non
osavano correggere. Il nuovo arcivescovo attaccò il male alla radice. Molti dei
colpevoli di intollerabili vizi e scandali cercavano di giustificarsi:
- Facciamo quello che è
costume essere fatto qui...
- Ma Cristo è verità, e
non costume!- egli replicava.
Con energia e,
soprattutto, col suo esempio personale, mise un freno agli abusi, moralizzò i
costumi e promosse la riforma del clero.
In poco tempo,
l'ex-giurista si trasformò in un esimio catechista che evangelizzava gli
indigeni con parole semplici ma ardenti. Percorse tre volte in visita pastorale
tutto l'immenso territorio della sua arcidiocesi, viaggiando instancabilmente
per migliaia di chilometri. Entrava nelle capanne miserabili, cercava gli
indigeni fuggitivi, sorrideva loro paternamente, parlava loro con bontà nei
loro idiomi e li conquistava a Cristo.
Grandi attività, intensa
vita di devozione
Le tre visite pastorali
gli occuparono più di dieci dei suoi venticinque anni di episcopato!
Convocò e presiedette
tredici sinodi regionali di vescovi. Regolamentò e perfezionò la catechesi
degli indigeni e fece stampare per loro i primi libri pubblicati nell'America
del Sud: il Catechismo in spagnolo, in quéchua e in aymara. Fondò cento nuove
parrocchie nella sua arcidiocesi.
Tutto questo senza
pregiudicare in nulla il punto fondamentale di ogni apostolo autentico: la sua
propria vita spirituale. Richiamò l'attenzione di tutti coloro che avevano
vissuto insieme a lui la sua intensa vita di devozione, alla quale dedicava
quotidianamente molte ore di preghiera e meditazione.
Immensa gioia:
"Andrai alla Casa del Signore!"
Ebbe l'inestimabile
soddisfazione di convertire migliaia di indigeni e di cresimare tre santi: San
Martino di Porres, San Francesco Solano e Santa Rosa di Lima.
La morte lo colse nel
corso della sua ultima visita pastorale, in una povera cappella a quasi 500
chilometri da Lima. Sentendo approssimarsi l'ora estrema, recitò il Salmo 122:
"Quale gioia, quando mi dissero: Andremo alla casa del Signore!". Spirò
dolcemente alle 15,30 del 23 marzo 1606, un Giovedì Santo.
Benedetto XIII lo
canonizzò nel 1726 e Giovanni Paolo II lo ha proclamato Patrono dell'Episcopato
Latino- Americano nel 1983.
Fonte: Rivista Araldi del
Vangelo, Marzo 2006
Tratti caratteristici
della santità di San Turibio
San Turibio di Mogrovejo
è stato perfettamente consapevole che il ministero pastorale ha un senso
solamente se è vissuto in santità e se la promuove: è stata una
evangelizzazione alla santità.
Contemplare la figura di
San Turibio di Mogrovejo è contemplare la figura di un vescovo che si dedica
con esuberante generosità al suo ministero, senza dare alcuna importanza alle
difficoltà e agli inconvenienti che si possono eventualmente incontrare durante
il cammino.
Può sorgere allora
legittima la domanda: quale è stato il segreto della santità di San Turibio di
Mogrovejo?
Il segreto della santità
di San Turibio, come di qualsiasi santo, è stato il suo essere prossimo a Dio,
la sua fedeltà alla preghiera, elemento fondamentale del suo ministero
apostolico. È un dato di fatto che nella vita spirituale la persona progredisce
nella misura in cui prega. (...)
L'amore verso i bisognosi
è stato pure un tratto caratteristico della fisionomia spirituale dell'Apostolo
del Perù. Questo amore per i poveri si manifestava negli innumerevoli gesti
realizzati dal Santo, dal suo tratto affabile con gli indi e i bisognosi,
passando per la consegna ai poveri dei beni che riusciva ad ottenere, giungendo
persino alla donazione dei suoi stessi vestiti, mobili, e utensili domestici.
In San Turibio
rafforziamo la nostra convinzione che il tempo consacrato a Dio è garanzia di
una fedele dedizione al compimento dei propri doveri e al servizio dei
fratelli.
Nella preghiera, San
Turibio Alfonso di Mogrovejo comprese che "una delle caratteristiche
fondamentali del pastore dev'essere amare gli uomini che gli sono stati
affidati, allo stesso modo di come ama Cristo, di cui è al servizio". Egli
ha compreso il ministero pastorale come lo concepisce il nostro caro Papa
Benedetto XVI, che ha detto nella Messa di inaugurazione del suo Ministero
Petrino: "Pascere vuol dire amare; e amare vuol dire anche essere disposto
a soffrire. Amare significa dare alle pecore il vero bene, l'alimento della
verità di Dio, l'alimento della sua presenza, che Egli soltanto ci dà nel
Santissimo Sacramento".
Fonte: Omelia della Messa
commemorativa del quarto centenario della morte del Santo, il Cardinale Juan
Luis Cipriani Thorne, Arcivescovo di Lima
Ci vuole coraggio a scagliarsi contro l’ingiustizia per difendere i più deboli che soccombono. Si rischia di toccare gli interessi di ricchi e potenti che potrebbero farla pagare, a caro prezzo. San Turibio Alfonso, vescovo di Lima (Perù) non se ne cura. Per tutta la vita accusa anche quella parte di clero (di cui fa parte) che è asservita all’arroganza dei più forti.
Patrono del Perù e dell’America Latina, Turibio Alfonso nasce a Mayorga, in Spagna, nel 1538 circa. Discendente della nobile famiglia dei Mogrovejo, si laurea e insegna legge all’Università di Salamanca. Nel 1580 viene nominato vescovo di Lima (Perù), un territorio lontano, vastissimo e selvaggio, oppresso dalla tirannia dei conquistadores spagnoli. Il clero è assoggettato al potere dei coloni, gli indigeni analfabeti vengono battezzati con la violenza, anche se nella maggior parte dei casi non sanno cosa sia il Cristianesimo. Dappertutto dilagano miseria, denutrizione, malattie, assenza di qualsivoglia rispetto per la dignità umana, anche per gli schiavi dalla pelle nera che cominciano ad arrivare dall’Africa, dove sono stati prelevati con la forza dai loro villaggi e fatti prigionieri.
Giunto in Perù dopo un lungo viaggio, Turibio si dà subito da fare e non si perde d’animo. Visita tutta la sua diocesi e, per andare in ogni luogo, occorrono sette anni. Soprattutto impara le lingue locali e fa tradurre libri di preghiere e catechismi per diffonderli tra le popolazioni indigene. Aiuta con umiltà tutti e per tutti esige almeno un letto dove dormire e un tavolo dove poter consumare i pasti. I suoi rimproveri severissimi li destina contro chi sottomette gli indigeni e contro i religiosi stessi, assoggettati all’autorità dei conquistadores. Per questo motivo il vescovo, amato dal popolo, forma nuovi religiosi.
Turibio trascorre tutta la vita assieme agli ultimi. Cammina con loro
rifiutando di farsi trasportare in portantina e diserta le solenni cerimonie di
corte, tanto da essere inviso allo stesso viceré spagnolo. Turibio Alfonso
muore a Saña, nel Nord del Perù, nel 1606, durante una visita pastorale, tra le
braccia dei suoi indios.
Autore: Mariella
Lentini
Aveva studiato diritto
canonico, ma era rimasto laico. Così, quando papa Gregorio XIII lo ha voluto
vescovo, gli hanno dovuto conferire in un colpo solo tutti gli ordini fino al
sacerdozio. Dopodiché, nell’agosto 1580 ha ricevuto la consacrazione
episcopale e nella primavera del 1581 ha raggiunto la sua sede: Ciudad de Los
Reyes, chiamata poi Lima, oggi capitale del Perú. Allora vi risiedeva un viceré
spagnolo con autorità su un territorio vastissimo, ben oltre gli attuali
confini peruviani.
Turibio viene dalla
nobile famiglia dei Mogrovejo, ed è noto per la rettitudine e il senso del
dovere: re Filippo II di Spagna lo stima molto, è lieto di averlo a Lima come
vescovo; ma non è lieto lui per quello che trova in quell’America meridionale,
da meno di cinquant’anni sotto dominio spagnolo. Qui Filippo II, nella persona
del suo viceré, comanda ben poco: sono i conquistadores a comandare veramente.
Fanno quello che vogliono. E naturalmente si proclamano cristiani: anzi,
propagatori della fede: e infatti ci sono moltissimi indios e meticci già
battezzati, e anche i primi schiavi neri portati dall’Africa. Ma sono stati
cristianizzati con la violenza, usando pure i precetti religiosi per tenerli
sottomessi e poveri.
Turibio aveva accettato
con poco entusiasmo la dignità vescovile. Ma la scoperta di questa situazione
gli dà la carica e la passione per una battaglia che durerà fino alla morte. I
suoi 25 anni di episcopato sono occupati da successive visite pastorali, da
concili locali e sinodi diocesani per migliorare innanzitutto la qualità del
clero. È severissimo con i preti succubi dei conquistadores, e sul proprio
esempio va formando un clero nuovo. Ha imparato la lingua locale per parlare
direttamente con questa gente denutrita e umiliata, e la “rievangelizza”
partendo dal rispetto della sua dignità, anche nelle forme: per ordine suo, i
sacerdoti devono esortare e aiutare gli indios a mangiare sedendo a tavola, a
dormire in un letto, a vivere da persone libere.
Tutto questo gli procura
l’avversione dei conquistadores; e persino il viceré ce l’ha con lui, perché è
sempre in visita pastorale e non lo si vede mai alle cerimonie di corte. Ma gli
indios amano questo vescovo che rifiuta di viaggiare in portantina e cammina
con loro. Fa pubblicare catechismi e libri di preghiere nelle lingue locali,
fonda il primo seminario delle Americhe a Lima, intraprende la terza visita
pastorale e si ammala nel Nord del Perú. Non vuole interrompere il viaggio e
muore a Saña, ascoltando il canto dei salmi il Giovedì santo. Benedetto
XIII lo canonizzerà nel 1726.
Autore: Domenico
Agasso
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/26500
Pintura
anónima, óleo sobre lienzo, de un milagro de Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo en Perú. Museo
de Salamanca
Turibius de Mogrovejo,
Lima, Perú; 1e bisschop van Lima; † 1606.
Feest 23 maart.
Eigenlijk heette hij
Torbibio Alfonso de Mongrovejo. Hij werd op 16 november 1538 geboren in de
Spaanse plaats Moajorga, in de provincie León. Hij was van jongs af een vroom
man. Na schitterende studieresultaten werd hij professor in de Rechten aan de
universiteit van Samanca. Van daaruit werd hij benoemd tot voorzitter van de
Inquisitie te Granada, en vervolgens in 1580 – op instigatie van koning Filips
II († 1598) zelf - tot eerste bisschop van de Peruaanse stad Lima. Dat
was een onverwachte benoeming, gegeven het feit dat hij helemaal geen enkele
wijding had: hij was leek. Na alsnog de benodigde wijdingen te hebben ontvangen
scheepte hij zich in voor zijn nieuwe standplaats overzee.
Hij bleek een
voortreffelijk bisschop; hij bevorderde de apostolische ijver van de
missionarissen, verdedigde de kerk tegen de Spaanse overheden en kwam op voor
de inlandse bevolking.
Hij werd in 1679 door
paus Innocentius XI († 1689; feest 13augustus) zalig verklaard; zijn
heiligverklaring volgde onder Benedictus XIII († 1730) in 1729.
Patronaten
Hij is patroon van Perú en van de hoofdstad Lima.
[Bdt.1925; Dries van den Akker s.j./2010.04.03]
© A. van den Akker
s.j.
SOURCE : http://heiligen-3s.nl/heiligen/03/23/03-23-1606-turibius.php
Voir aussi : http://www.jeunes-cathos.fr/questions-de-foi/vie-pour-le-christ/saint-turibio-de-mogrovejo
http://www.mcnbiografias.com/app-bio/do/show?key=toribio-alonso-de-mogrovejo-santo
http://archbishopterry.blogspot.ca/2011/03/wednesday-of-lenten-week-ii-st-turibius.html
