at the college in Coimbra before returning to Salamanca sometime later. His uncle died not long after he returned to Salamanca for his studies. His learning and virtuous reputation led to King Philip II appointing him as the Grand Inquisitor on the Inquisition Court stationed at Granada in February 1571. He remained in that position until 1576 but not without impressing the king with his work. Episcopate During this time Philip II nominated him for the vacant Lima archbishopric, despite his strong protests. He used his knowledge of canon law to remind the king and the pope that priests alone could be designated with ecclesial dignities, but the pope overruled him. Preparations were made for him to be ordained before the formal announcement could be made. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1578 in Granada (after four consecutive weeks of receiving the minor orders) and Pope Gregory XIII named him on 16 May 1579 as the Archbishop of Lima; he received his episcopal consecration in August 1580 from the Archbishop of Seville Cristóbal Rojas Sandoval. In September 1580 he departed for Peru alongside his sister and her husband. The new archbishop first arrived in Paita on 12 May 1581 which was 600 miles – or 970 kilometers – from Lima. He began his new mission travelling to Lima on foot while he baptized and taught the natives. He was enthroned in his new see a week later. His favorite topic was: "Time is not our own and we must give a strict account of it". He traversed his entire archdiocese three times on foot and alone, exposed to tempests and torrents as well as the wild beasts and tropical heat. He also had to deal with fevers, and often with threats from hostile tribes. He countered these, all the while baptizing and confirming almost one half million people, including Rose of Lima, Martin de Porres, Francis Solano (who later became a close friend), and Juan Masías, all of whom would be canonized. He built roads and schoolhouses as well as chapels and hospitals, and established convents for them to live in. In 1591 he founded the first seminary in the Western Hemisphere and mandated that learning indigenous languages was a prerequisite in their formation. He inaugurated the first part of the third Lima Cathedral on 2 February 1604. He also assembled thirteen diocesan synods and three provincial councils during