March 23

ST. TURIBIUS OF MONGROVEJO

St. Turibius was born in 1538 in Leon, Spain. He became a university professor and then a famous judge. He was a fine Christian with a reputation for being honest and wise.

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 leaned 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 Conquerors.

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 don't want to be fooled into judging the importance of people by the amount of money they have or the expensive things they own. Each one is important because God is the Father of us all. We can ask St. Turibius to help us treat every person with respect and kindness as he did.