Lima Cathedral (Tomb of St. Turibius)

The Story

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Lima, standing on the Plaza Mayor at the heart of Peru's capital, preserves the relics of St. Turibius of Mogrovejo (Santo Toribio), the second Archbishop of Lima and one of the great pastors of the New World. Born in Spain in 1538, Turibius was a layman and professor of law when, to his own astonishment, he was named Archbishop of Lima in 1579, receiving holy orders before crossing the Atlantic. From 1581 until his death he traversed his immense diocese repeatedly, much of it on foot, learning indigenous languages, defending native peoples against abuses, and administering the sacraments in the most remote settlements. He convoked the Third Council of Lima (1582-1583), which produced catechisms in Quechua and Aymara, and he is traditionally said to have confirmed St. Rose of Lima and St. Martin de Porres. Turibius died on March 23, 1606, while on visitation at Sana in northern Peru. His remains were brought back to Lima, and because devotion to him spread so quickly his relics were widely distributed; today they are venerated in a reliquary in the cathedral's Chapel of Santo Toribio. He was canonized in 1726, and he has been named patron of the Latin American episcopate. The cathedral itself, begun in the sixteenth century and completed in its present form by the end of the eighteenth, remains the seat of the Archdiocese of Lima. Pilgrims who visit encounter both the history of the Church in the Americas and the memory of a bishop whose tireless charity shaped Catholic life across a continent.

Church Recognition

St. Turibius of Mogrovejo was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726 and is honored as patron of the Latin American bishops; his relics are venerated in a dedicated chapel of Lima's Metropolitan Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of Lima.

Catholic Teaching

The veneration of a holy bishop's relics reflects the Church's faith in the communion of saints (CCC 946-962) and honors the episcopal ministry of teaching, sanctifying, and shepherding that St. Turibius exercised with heroic charity.

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Practical

1 Additional Information ▾

Visitors to the cathedral on Lima's Plaza Mayor may pray in the Chapel of Santo Toribio, where a reliquary of the saint is displayed, and explore the cathedral and its museum; devotion peaks around his feast on March 23.

Go Deeper

The Archdiocese of Lima and the cathedral's museum provide visitor information; for the saint's life, see the entry for March 23 in Butler's Lives of the Saints and the Catechism on the communion of saints (CCC 946-962).