The Government of Peru declared Saint Toribio de Mogrovejo, second archbishop of Lima, patron of human rights in the country. It did so through Supreme Decree No. 016-2026-JUS, dated November 9 and published on the 10th in the official gazette El Peruano, on the eve of León XIV’s arrival in the country. The text is signed by the President of the Republic, Keiko Fujimori, and the Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Ernesto Álvarez, with the endorsement of the President of the Council of Ministers, Luis Fernando Galarreta, who is acting as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Article 3 recognizes the saint, who lived between 1538 and 1606, as “patron of human rights in Peru” and precursor of the defense of human dignity. The recitals present him as an archbishop who opposed the abuses committed against the inhabitants of the viceroyalty, and they rely on Articles 1 and 44 of the Constitution, concerning human dignity and the State’s duty to guarantee rights, and on Article 50, which recognizes the role of the Catholic Church.
An annual date and assignments to two ministries
The decree establishes April 27 of each year as the date to commemorate his legacy, with civic and historical character, although it is not a public holiday or non-working day. In addition, it entrusts the Ministry of Justice with researching and disseminating his life and work, as well as organizing academic and outreach activities on human dignity and rights. For its part, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must promote the exchange of historical sources about the saint and support his international dissemination.
Among the reasons for the measure, the decree itself cites the letter that León XIV addressed on September 8 to the bishops of Latin America, in which the Pope praises the defense that Toribio made of people and the poorest. InfoVaticana reported on that document, in which the Pope proposes the saintly archbishop as a model of episcopal ministry on the occasion of the third centenary of his canonization.
The saint, present in the Pope’s address to the Peruvian bishops
León XIV referred to Saint Toribio in the speech he delivered on November 12 to the bishops of Peru in the chapel of the archiepiscopal residence in Lima. According to the text published by the Vatican, the Pope stated that “the figure of Saint Toribio de Mogrovejo stands out in a singular way” and recalled the catechism written in Aymara, Quechua and Spanish, which in his view “bears witness to his missionary zeal.”
The Pontiff added that the saint teaches that pastoral charity “does not consist in avoiding problems, but in remaining faithful to Christ.” He then mentioned, among other saints who walked through Peru, Saint Rose of Lima.
According to OSV News, the Pope will visit during the trip the shrine of Saint Toribio in Zaña, where he prayed repeatedly when he was bishop of Chiclayo.