Grand Inquisitor Facts for Kids

This page is about the inquisitorial office. For the poem by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, see The Grand Inquisitor. For the fictional character, see Grand Inquisitor (Star Wars).

Quick facts for kids Grand Inquisitor

Appointer	Monarch
Inaugural holder	Tomás de Torquemada
Formation	1483
Final holder	Jerónimo Castillón y Salas
Abolished	1820

The Grand Inquisitor (from the Latin Inquisitor Generalis, meaning General Inquisitor) was the most important leader of the Inquisition. The Inquisition was a special system of church courts. These courts were set up by the Catholic Church to deal with people accused of not following its rules or beliefs.

The title "Grand Inquisitor" most often refers to the chief leader of the Spanish Inquisition. This was a very powerful court in Spain. There was also a Grand Inquisitor in Portugal. This person was chosen by the king, but approved by the Pope.

The most famous Grand Inquisitor was Tomás de Torquemada. He was a Spanish monk from the Dominican Order. He played a key role in starting the Spanish Inquisition.

Leaders of the Spanish Inquisition
Leaders of the Portuguese Inquisition
See also

Leaders of the Spanish Inquisition

The Grand Inquisitor was the head of the Spanish Inquisition. This person was appointed by the King of Spain. They oversaw all the activities of the Inquisition throughout the country.

Early Grand Inquisitors

Tomás de Torquemada, Grand Inquisitor of Spain (1483–1498)

Diego de Deza, Grand Inquisitor of Spain (1498–1507)

Here are some of the first Grand Inquisitors of Spain:

From	To	Grand Inquisitor	Other important jobs
1483	1498	Tomás de Torquemada	Leader of the Dominican Convent of Santa Cruz in Segovia
1499	1506	Diego de Deza Tavera	Archbishop of Seville
1506	1507	Diego Ramírez de Guzmán	Bishop of Catania, Bishop of Lugo

Separation of Courts in Castile and Aragon

For a short time, the Inquisition was split into two parts. One part was for the region of Castile, and the other for Aragon.

Grand Inquisitors of Castile

Adrian of Utrecht, Grand Inquisitor of Spain (1518–1522)

From	To	Grand Inquisitor	Other important jobs
1507	1517	Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros	Cardinal, Archbishop of Toledo

Grand Inquisitors of Aragon

Juan Pardo de Tavera, Grand Inquisitor of Spain (1539–1545)

Fernando Niño de Guevara, Grand Inquisitor of Spain (1600–1602)

Francisco Antonio de Lorenzana, Grand Inquisitor of Spain (1794–1797)

From	To	Grand Inquisitor	Other important jobs
1507	1513	Juan Enguera	Bishop of Vich, Bishop of Lleida, Bishop of Tortosa
1513	1516	Luis Mercader Escolano	Bishop of Tortosa
1516	1517	Adrian of Utrecht	Cardinal priest, Bishop of Tortosa

Reunification of the Inquisition

After 1517, the Inquisition was brought back together under one Grand Inquisitor. This continued until the office was abolished in 1820.

From	To	Grand Inquisitor	Other important jobs
1518	1522	Adrian of Utrecht	Cardinal priest, Bishop of Tortosa
1523	1538	Alonso Manrique de Lara	Bishop of Badajoz, Archbishop of Seville, Cardinal
1539	1545	Juan Pardo de Tavera	Archbishop of Toledo
1546	1546	García de Loaysa	Archbishop of Seville
1547	1566	Fernando de Valdés y Salas	Archbishop of Seville
1566	1572	Diego de Espinosa	Bishop of Sigüenza, Bishop of Cuenca
1572	1572	Pedro Ponce de León	Bishop of Ciudad Rodrigo, Bishop of Plasencia
1573	1594	Gaspar de Quiroga y Vela	Archbishop of Toledo
1595	1595	Jerónimo Manrique de Lara	Bishop of Cartagena, Bishop of Ávila
1596	1599	Pedro de Portocarrero	Bishop of Calahorra, Bishop of Cuenca
1599	1602	Fernando Niño de Guevara	Archbishop of Seville
1602	1602	Juan de Zúñiga Flores	Bishop of Cartagena
1603	1608	Juan Bautista de Acevedo	Bishop of Valladolid, Patriarch of the Indias
1608	1618	Bernardo de Sandoval y Rojas	Archbishop of Toledo
1619	1621	Luis de Aliaga Martínez
1622	1626	Andrés Pacheco	Bishop of Cuenca, Patriarch of the Indias
1627	1632	Antonio de Zapata Cisneros	Archbishop of Burgos
1632	1643	Antonio de Sotomayor	Prior of Santo Domingo
1643	1665	Diego de Arce y Reinoso	Bishop of Tuy, Bishop of Avila, Bishop of Palencia
1665	1665	Pascual de Aragón	Archbishop of Toledo
1666	1669	Juan Everardo Nithard
1669	1695	Diego Sarmiento de Valladares	Bishop of Oviedo, Bishop of Plasencia
1695	1699	Juan Tomás de Rocaberti	Prior of Santo Domingo, Archbishop of Valencia
1699	1699	Alonso Fernández de Córdoba y Aguilar	Appointed Grand Inquisitor, but died before he could start.
1699	1705	Baltasar de Mendoza y Sandoval	Bishop of Segovia
1705	1709	Vidal Marín del Campo	Archbishop of Burgos
1709	1710	Antonio Ibáñez de Riva Herrera	Archbishop of Zaragoza, Archbishop of Toledo
1711	1716	Francesco del Giudice	Archbishop of Monreale
1715	1715	Felipe Antonio Gil de Taboada	Chosen as Grand Inquisitor but did not serve.
1717	1717	José de Molines	Announced in Rome, but held by Austrians and died without serving.
1718	1718	Felipe de Arcemendi	Died without serving.
1720	1720	Diego de Astorga y Céspedes	Archbishop of Toledo
1720	1733	Juan de Camargo y Angulo	Bishop of Pamplona
1733	1740	Andrés de Orbe y Larreategui	Archbishop of Valencia
1742	1746	Manuel Isidro Orozco Manrique de Lara	Archbishop of Santiago
1746	1755	Francisco Pérez de Prado	Bishop of Teruel
1755	1774	Manuel Quintano Bonifaz	Titular Archbishop of Farsala
1775	1783	Felipe Beltrán Serrano	Bishop of Salamanca
1784	1793	Agustín Rubin de Ceballos	Bishop of Jaén
1793	1794	Manuel Abad y Lasierra	Titular Archbishop of Selymbria
1794	1797	Francisco Antonio Lorenzana y Butrón	Archbishop of Toledo
1797	1808	Ramón José de Arce y Rebollar	Archbishop of Burgos
1808	1814	Abolition of the Inquisition
1814	1818	Francisco Javier Mier Campillo	Bishop of Almería
1818	1818	Cristóbal Bencomo y Rodríguez	Titular Archbishop of Heraclea (position rejected by himself)
1818	1820	Gerónimo Castillón y Salas	Bishop of Tarazona

Leaders of the Portuguese Inquisition

The Portuguese Inquisition also had its own Grand Inquisitor. This leader was chosen by the King of Portugal, but then approved by the Pope.

Grand Inquisitor facts for kids

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