ATIENZA, JUAN de. — Jesuit missionary. Born at Tordehumos (Valladolid) in 1542, died at Lima on 1 November 1592. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1564 and was professor of philosophy, rector of the novitiate at Villagarcia and of the college at Valladolid, before being assigned to the mission in Peru. Rector at Lima in 1581 and then provincial in 1585, he developed the missions in Ecuador and Paraguay (not yet separated from his province) and, by founding a printing press at Juli, ensured the dissemination of writings in the aymará and quicliana languages by missionary linguists such as Acosta and Barzana. He wrote the Lettere annue of Peru for the years 1590 and 1591.
BIBL.: Streit, Bibl., II, p. 259; J. E. Uriarte-M. Lecina, Bibl. de escritores de la C. de J... de España, I, Madrid 1925, pp. 360–61; E. Torres Saldamando, Los antiguos Jesuitas del Perú, Lima 1882, pp. 24–31; A. Astrin, Historia de la Compañía de J. en la Asistencia de España, IV, Madrid 1913, pp. 509–530. Edmondo Lamalle