[The venerable Varón Gregorio López, impact of his life and work throughout 400 years, 1562-2000]. / El venerable Varón Gregorio López, repercusiones de su vida y obra a lo largo de cuatrocientos años, 1562-2000.

ABSTRACT

During the second half of the 16th century in New Spain, there was a peculiar but versatile man named Gregorio López whose ascetic lifestyle, remarkable erudition and talent granted him an important place in history to date. The aim of this work was to focus attention on two aspects that have been ignored by contemporary historians. On the one hand, we will refer to Lopez's medical works, known as Tesoro de Medicinas (A Treasure of Medicines), a piece that although it is still immersed within the hypocraticgalenic tradition, continues to be highly valued. On the other hand, we found a vast amount of historiographic works that support the case for his beautification that began just 24 years after his death in 1596. The contribution we now make is divided into two parts for better understanding of the subject. We must emphasize, however, that both the exciting life this "Venerable Man" (Venerable Varón) led and the repercussions his deeds had, demonstrate an extraordinary coherence between the learned and the mystical man that he was. Gregorio López always maintained a remarkable social and religious presence, not only throughout the three centuries of colonial rule in Mexico, but also during the subsequent two hundred years that followed the struggle for Independence.