“Deán” Valdivia, Juan Gualberto

In 1811, Deán Valdivia traveled to the city of Cusco to study philosophy and then returned to Arequipa, where he studied theology. In 1817, he made his religious vows in the Orden de los Mercederarios (Order of the Mercedarians), and in 1820, he taught mathematics and physics at the Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepción (Inmaculada Concepción College) and introduced the teaching of chemical mineralogy for the first time in Peru. He occupied a high position (that of dean, hence his nickname) in the church of the city of Arequipa. In 1828, he founded Universidad Nacional de San Agustín (National University of San Agustín, UNSA), the first university in the city. A year earlier, he opposed celibacy and hung up the habit.

In 1841, Deán Valdivia was captured under the charge of conspiracy and put into captivity by Ramón Castilla (1797–1867), according to the orders of President Agustín Gamarra (1785–1841) but was released thanks to the intervention of the ecclesiastical authorities of the...