Francisco Marroquín (1499 – April 18, 1563) was the first bishop of

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by Hon ...

, ''(in Latin)'' translator of Central American languages and provisional Governor of Guatemala.

Biography

Marroquín was born near Santander,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. He studied

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...

and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

Osuna Osuna () is a town and municipality in the province of Seville, southern Spain, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. , it has a population of c. 17,800. It is the location of the Andalusian Social Economy School. Among famous people associ ...

.Recinos 1952, 1986, p. 127. After entering the priesthood, Marroquín became a professor at the

University of Osuna The University of Osuna ( es, Universidad de Osuna), officially the ''Colegio-Universidad de la Purísima Concepción en Osuna'' ("College-University of the Immaculate Conception in Osuna") was a university in Osuna, Kingdom of Seville, Spain fro ...

where he met Bishop García de Loaisa, an adviser to

Emperor Charles V Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) fr ...

. Marroquín became a priest in the Spanish royal court. In 1528 the

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, ...

Pedro de Alvarado Pedro de Alvarado (; c. 1485 – 4 July 1541) was a Spanish conquistador and governor of Guatemala.Lovell, Lutz and Swezey 1984, p. 461. He participated in the conquest of Cuba, in Juan de Grijalva's exploration of the coasts of the Yucat ...

, Governor of Guatemala, was in Spain and met Marroquín; he convinced the priest to accompany him back to Guatemala. 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. On December 18, 1534, he was appointed during the papacy of

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...

as Bishop of Santiago de Guatemala and later provisional governor of Guatemala. On April 8, 1537, he was consecrated bishop by

Juan de Zumárraga Juan de Zumárraga, OFM (1468 – June 3, 1548) was a Spanish Basque Franciscan prelate and the first Bishop of Mexico. He was also the region's first inquisitor. He wrote ''Doctrina breve'', the first book published in the Western Hemisph ...

, Archbishop of Mexico, with

Juan Lopez de Zárate ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of '' John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanis ...

, Bishop of Antequera, Oaxaca serving as co-consecrator. While bishop, he was the principal consecrator of Tomás Casillas,

Bishop of Chiapas A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

(1552) and principal co-consecrator of Antonio de Valdivieso, Bishop of Nicaragua (1544). Marroquín founded the School of Saint Thomas in 1559 (now the

University of San Carlos of Guatemala The Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC, ''University of San Carlos of Guatemala'') is the largest and oldest university of Guatemala; it is also the fourth founded in the Americas. Established in the Kingdom of Guatemala during the Spani ...

) as part of his efforts to educate the native people. He became a scholar of the

K'iche' language K'iche', K'ichee', or Quiché may refer to: * K'iche' people of Guatemala, a subgroup of the Maya * K'iche' language, a Maya language spoken by the K'iche' people ** Classical K'iche' language, the 16th century form of the K'iche' language * Kʼich ...

and published the first

catechism A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adul ...

in that language. The Universidad Francisco Marroquín in

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, ne ...

is named for him.

Notes

External links and additional sources

* (for Chronology of Bishops) * (for Chronology of Bishops) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marroquin, Francisco 1499 births 1563 deaths People from Santander, Spain Clergy from Cantabria 16th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Guatemala Governors of Guatemala Bishops appointed by Pope Paul III Roman Catholic bishops of Guatemala (pre-1743)