Gaspar de Borja y Velasco facts for kids
Quick facts for kids His Eminence Gaspar de Borja y Velasco |
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| Cardinal Primate of Spain Archbishop of Toledo |
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Portrait by Diego Velázquez, around 1643
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| Church | Roman Catholic |
| Archdiocese | Toledo |
| See | Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo |
| Enthroned | 16 January 1645 |
| Reign ended | 28 December 1645 |
| Predecessor | Position vacant |
| Successor | Baltasar Moscoso y Sandoval |
| Other posts | Cardinal-bishop of Albano 1630-1645 |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | 15 September 1630 by Antonio Marcello Barberini |
| Created Cardinal | 17 August 1611 |
| Rank | Cardinal-bishop |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 June 1580 Villalpando, Castile and León, Kingdom of Spain |
| Died | 28 December 1645 (aged 65) Toledo, Castile–La Mancha, Kingdom of Spain |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Previous post | Archbishop of Seville 1632-1645
Cardinal-priest of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme 1616-1630 Cardinal-priest of Santa Susanna 1611-1616 |
| Alma mater | Colegio Mayor de San Ildefonso |
Gaspar de Borja y Velasco (born June 26, 1580 – died December 28, 1645) was an important Spanish cardinal, church leader, and politician. He was part of the famous House of Borgia family. He held many high positions, including Primate of Spain, Archbishop of Seville, Archbishop of Toledo, and even viceroy of Naples. He was a very distant relative of Pope Alexander VI.
Family and Early Life
Gaspar de Borja y Velasco was born in a town called Villalpando. His father was Francisco Tomás de Borja y Centellas, the 6th Duke of Gandia. This made Gaspar related to two popes, Pope Callixtus III and Pope Alexander VI. His mother was Juana Enríquez de Velasco y de Aragón.
Life as a Church Leader
Gaspar studied theology at the Universidad Complutense. He rose quickly in the church because he was supported by Francisco Gómez de Sandoval y Rojas, a powerful figure in the court of King Philip III.
In August 1611, Pope Paul V made him a cardinal. He stayed in Rome to carry out his duties. He became very important in the Roman Curia, which is like the Pope's main administration. He attended the meetings where new popes are chosen, called papal conclaves, in 1621 and 1623. He also held other important jobs, like Camerlengo (a financial role) and Bishop of Albano.
From 1631 to 1634, he was Spain's ambassador to the Holy See (the government of the Catholic Church). During this time, Spain was fighting in the Thirty Years War, a big conflict in Europe. Gaspar de Borja accused Pope Urban VIII of not doing enough to support Catholic countries against Protestant nations. He even threatened that Spain might try to remove the Pope.
The Pope was not happy with Borja's strong words. As a result, Pope Urban VIII forced Borja to leave Rome in 1634 and made Spain remove him as their ambassador.
After this, Borja returned to Spain and continued his work as the Archbishop of Seville. Even though Pope Urban VIII didn't like him, the next pope, Pope Innocent X, appointed him Archbishop of Toledo in 1645. This was a very important position in Spain. Gaspar de Borja died in Toledo later that same year. He is buried in the Cathedral of Toledo.
See also
In Spanish: Gaspar de Borja y Velasco para niños
