Fray Gaspar de Villarroel (Quito, Kingdom of Quito, present-day Ecuador, 1587 – La Plata, Charcas, present-day Sucre, Bolivia, October 12, 1665) was an influential Augustinian priest, theologian, and archbishop in colonial Spanish America. Educated at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Lima, he rose to prominence as a preacher in Spain, eventually being appointed Bishop of Santiago de Chile in 1637, where he led relief efforts during the 1647 earthquake. He later served as Bishop of Arequipa and Archbishop of La Plata (Charcas). Villarroel is also remembered for his significant theological writings, particularly Gobierno Eclesiástico Pacífico (1656), which addressed the relationship between church and state in the Spanish colonies.
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