TORIBIO, ALFONSO de MOGROVEJO, St. — b. c. 1538; d. 23 March 1606.
He studied law at the University of Salamanca. In 1575 he became president of the “Consejo de la Inquisición in Granada,” thereby coming into contact with Philip II, who appointed him to succeed the archbishop of Lima, Jerónimo de Loaysa, O.P., who had died in 1575. On 9 March 1579 he was preconized at Rome by Pope Gregory XIII and confirmed on the 16th of the same month. Ordained priest in Granada and consecrated bishop in Seville in 1580, he then traveled to South America. Upon his arrival, with the help of the viceroy Martín Henríquez, he held the first diocesan synod of Lima in 1582. He then sought to convene a provincial council for all of South America, which, under his direction, took place in 1583 as the Third Provincial Council of Lima and proved of capital importance for the further development of the Church in South America. Following this provincial council, two others were held in 1591 and 1601; in addition, he celebrated ten diocesan synods. With apostolic boldness he defended the rights of the Church against civil authority and even against Philip II of Spain, as well as the rights of the bishop against the privileges of religious orders. With great zeal he promoted missions among the Indians, personally visiting his vast diocese three times, and died during the third visitation in the Valley of Pacasmayo. He was beatified in 1679 and canonized by Benedict XIII in 1726. Feast day: 23 March and 27 April.