He was born approximately in 1470 in the Spanish town of Madrigal de los Altas Torres. He studied jurisprudence at the University of Salamanca. His philosophical training was greatly influenced by the work Utopia by Tomas Moro; This book describes a just society based on mutual aid and harmony among all its members.

In 1531 he arrived in New Spain with the position of listener. His humanism led him to oppose the large number of abuses that the conquistadors committed against the indigenous population. 1532 he founded the hospital of Santa Fe on the outskirts of Mexico City, thus beginning his project of temples-hospitals, where he would try to put humanist ideals into practice.

A year later he founded another temple-hospital in Pátzcuaro. Thanks to his humanitarian work and Christian indoctrination among the Tarascan Indians, he was appointed the first bishop of Michoacán in 1537. During his work as bishop, many temple-hospitals were founded throughout the Diocese of Michoacán, which at that time also covered what is now the state of Guanajuato. Those in charge of founding these temples-hospitals were the Tarascan Indians, following their precepts.

Vasco of Quiroga died on March 14, 1565 in Pátzcuaro. In Irapuato, the temple of Nuestra Señora de la Misericordia of the Tarascan Indians, better known as the Hospitalito, is an example of how the teachings of Vasco de Quiroga were put into practice in various parts of the territory of the bishopric of Michoacán.