(1538-1606) Turibius was born to Spanish nobility. He studied and later taught law at the University of Salamanca. He became a priest at 40 and was appointed Grand Inquisitor in the Court at Granada, Spain. He was made Archbishop of Lima, Peru, where he walked thousands of miles, teaching, converting, and baptizing. Among the half million people he baptised and confirmed are Saints Rose of Lima, Francis Solana, and Martin de Porres. Turibius was a champion of the rights of the native people of Peru, where he helped build roads, schools, chapels, hospitals, and the first American seminary.
In order to serve as he did as Archbishop in Peru, Turibius had to face difficult terrain, entitled Spanish colonizers, dangerous neighboring tribes, bad weather, tropical heat, wild beasts, and more. Doing what is right isn’t always easy. How do you overcome difficulties in your recovery? How do you use that in service of others?
“Time is not our own, and we must give a strict account of it” (Saint Turibius de Mogrovejo).
Reflection by Brad Farmer