Most Reverend Francisco Marroquín Hurtado | |
---|---|
Bishop of Santiago de Guatemala | |
Church | Catholic Church |
Diocese | Diocese of Santiago de Guatemala |
In office | 1534–1563 |
Predecessor | None |
Successor | Bernardino de Villalpando |
Orders | |
Consecration | 8 April 1537 by Juan de Zumárraga |
Personal details | |
Born | 1478 |
Died | 19 April 1563 (84-85 years old) Guatemala City, Guatemala |
Nationality | Spanish |
Francisco Marroquín (1499 – April 18, 1563) was the first bishop of Guatemala, [1] [2] translator of Central American languages and provisional Governor of Guatemala.
Marroquín was born near Santander, Spain. He studied philosophy and theology in Osuna. [3] After entering the priesthood, Marroquín became a professor at the University of Osuna where he met Bishop García de Loaisa, an adviser to Emperor Charles V. [4] Marroquín became a priest in the Spanish royal court. [3] In 1528 the conquistador Pedro de Alvarado, Governor of Guatemala, was in Spain and met Marroquín; he convinced the priest to accompany him back to Guatemala. [5]
After first arriving in Mexico, he traveled onwards to Guatemala with Alvarado, in May 1528. On April 11, 1530, he was appointed parish priest of Guatemala. [6] On December 18, 1534, he was appointed during the papacy of Pope Paul III as Bishop of Santiago de Guatemala [7] and later provisional governor of Guatemala. [6] On April 8, 1537, he was consecrated bishop by Juan de Zumárraga, Archbishop of Mexico, with Juan Lopez de Zárate, Bishop of Antequera, Oaxaca serving as co-consecrator. [7] While bishop, he was the principal consecrator of Tomás Casillas, Bishop of Chiapas (1552) and principal co-consecrator of Antonio de Valdivieso, Bishop of Nicaragua (1544). [7]
Marroquín founded the School of Saint Thomas in 1559 (now the University of San Carlos of Guatemala) as part of his efforts to educate the native people. He became a scholar of the Kʼicheʼ language and published the first catechism in that language. [8]
The Universidad Francisco Marroquín in Guatemala City is named for him.