Francisco Marroquín

Francisco Marroquín (1499 – April 18, 1563) was the first bishop of Guatemala,^[1][2] translator of Central American languages and provisional Governor of Guatemala.

Most Reverend Francisco Marroquín Hurtado
Bishop of Santiago de Guatemala
Francisco Marroquín on a Guatemalan stamp
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 Santander, Spain
Died	19 April 1563 (84-85 years old) Guatemala City, Guatemala
Nationality	Spanish

Biography

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.

Notes

1. Recinos 1952, 1986, p. 127. n. 75.
2. Eubel, Konrad (1923). Hierarchia catholica medii et recentioris aevi. Vol. III (second ed.). Münster: Libreria Regensbergiana. p. 207. (in Latin)
3. Recinos 1952, 1986, p. 127.
4. Pérez de Antón, Francisco (January 13, 1992). (PDF). Universidad Francisco Marroquín, Guatemala City. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 13, 2007. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
5. Recinos 1952, 1986, pp. 126–127.
6. "Francisco Marroquín (1499–1563)" (PDF). Religion & Liberty. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty. 12 (5). September–October 2002. Retrieved 2008-10-14.^{[dead link]}
7. Cheney, David M. "Bishop Francisco Marroquín Hurtado". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Retrieved June 16, 2018. ^{[self-published]}
8. "Francisco Marroquin (1478–1563)" (Spanish). Genesis Megaprogramas, SA. Retrieved 2008-10-14.

External links and additional sources

• Cheney, David M. "Archdiocese of Guatemala". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Retrieved June 16, 2018. (for Chronology of Bishops) ^{[self-published]}
• Chow, Gabriel. "Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santiago de Guatemala". GCatholic.org. Retrieved June 16, 2018. (for Chronology of Bishops) ^{[self-published]}
• Recinos, Adrian (1986) [1952]. Pedro de Alvarado: Conquistador de México y Guatemala (in Spanish) (2nd ed.). Guatemala: CENALTEX Centro Nacional de Libros de Texto y Material Didáctico "José de Pineda Ibarra". OCLC 243309954.

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by None	Bishop of Santiago de Guatemala 1534-1563	Succeeded by Bernardino de Villalpando