March 23 | Saint Turibius de Mogrovejo

Welcome, young history buffs and curious minds, to My Daily Saint, the podcast that digs deep into the incredible lives of the saints, those remarkable people who shaped history and continue to inspire us today. Forget dusty old portraits and boring stories. Today, imagine this scenario. You are smart, successful, and you've got your entire career mapped out. You are a lawyer. A judge, actually. You spend your days interpreting the law, sitting in a courtroom in Granada, Spain. You are living the life of a respected nobleman.

Then, you get a letter, and it's from the king of Spain, King Philip II. And the king has a great idea. He wants you to move across the ocean to the wild, rugged colony of Peru. And here is the kicker. He wants you to go there as the archbishop.

There's just one massive problem. You aren't even a priest. This is the absolutely wild life of St. Terribius de Mogravejo. Let's go back to the beginning. Terribius was born into a noble family in Spain in 1538. He was a brilliant guy. He went to the University of Salamanca to study law, and eventually became a judge in Granada. He was doing his job so well that he caught the attention of the most powerful man in the world at the time, King Philip II.

The king looked at the Spanish colony of Peru and saw a mess. He needed someone strong to lead the church there. He pointed at Terribius and said, that's the guy. I want him to be the missionary archbishop. This sounds crazy, and probably, just like we would, Terribius actually resisted the king's wishes. He argued his case like the lawyer he was. He insisted that he was not capable of serving as an archbishop. He pointed to canon law, showing that the law did not permit a layman, someone who isn't ordained, to become an archbishop.

But eventually, the call to serve God ended. outweighed his arguments, and he was consecrated a bishop in 1581, at the age of 43. He went from being a lawyer to a high-ranking church leader almost overnight. He left immediately for Lima, Peru, ready to face a world completely different from the courtrooms of Spain.

When Terribius arrived in Peru, he looked around and saw a disaster. He saw the unfortunate state of the oppressed natives, and he saw the corruption of the colonists who were only interested in seeking wealth. The rich, powerful Spanish colonists expected the new archbishop to be on their side. Instead, Terribius embarked on a visitation of his entire diocese.

And when we say entire, we are talking about massive, rugged terrain. He became a hero for the people who had no voice. While the colonists were busy trying to get rich, Terribius took action by praying and performing acts of penance. But he didn't just pray, he got to work. He administered the sacraments and taught the faith. He built the infrastructure of a society that actually cared for people. He established schools, seminaries, and hospitals. He sometimes spent days traveling just to reach a single individual to share the gospel message with them.

Think about that. Walking or riding for days through dangerous territory just to tell one person that God loves them. Because of this effort, the native Peruvians knew how deeply their archbishop valued them. He was truly a shepherd who smelled like his sheep. And here is a cool celebrity connection for you. Saint Terribius was working in Peru at a time of spiritual giants. It is likely that he was the bishop who confirmed two other massive superstars of the faith, Saint Rose of Lima and Saint Martin de Porres.

Imagine being the guy who confirms two future saints. Terribius didn't stop until he literally couldn't move anymore. In 1606, he became seriously ill. True to his character, he didn't hoard his wealth for a comfortable retirement. He distributed his possessions to the poor before he died on March 23rd. But the story doesn't end there. When they checked his body one year later, it was discovered to be incorrupt, which means it hadn't decayed. It was a miracle, confirming his holiness. In 1726, Pope Benedict XIII canonized him, making him one of the first canonized saints in the Americas.

Saint Terribius is the patron saint of Native peoples' rites, Latin American bishops, and Peru. Here is your mission. Identify one person in your life, maybe at school, on your sports team, or even a sibling, who seems left out, ignored, or far away socially. Today, go out of your way to go to them. Walk across the cafeteria, send that text, or sit next to them on the bus.

Make that journey to that one single individual to show them they have value. Thank you for joining us on My Daily Saint. We look forward to sharing another incredible story of faith and courage with you tomorrow.