Bernardino Álvarez
frontispiece of a 1762 biography
Born1514 Edit this on Wikidata
DiedAugust 12, 1584 Edit this on Wikidata (aged 69–70)

Bernardino Álvarez Herrera (1514 – August 12, 1584) was a Catholic friar in New Spain.

Álvarez was born on 1514 in Seville. He joined the army in his boyhood, but was dismissed for misconduct and transported to a penal colony in the Philippine islands. He escaped thence and went to Peru, where he amassed a large fortune, after the manner of the adventurers of the time. But, unlike most of them, he devoted this wealth to charitable objects. He founded the benevolent order of St. Bernardine, and in Mexico, Vera Cruz, Acapulco, and other cities of New Spain, established hospitals, which are served by an association named for St. Hippolite. His philanthropy made him famous among the people who have been benefited by his gifts.

Bernardino Álvarez died on 12 August 1584 in Mexico.

public domain This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Wilson, J. G.; Fiske, J., eds. (1891). "Bernardino Álvarez". Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton.


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