Juan García de Loaysa y Mendoza (1478 in

Talavera de la Reina Talavera de la Reina () is a city and municipality of Spain, part of the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Its population of 83,303 makes it the second most populated municipality of the province of Toledo and the fourth largest in th ...

, near Toledo,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

– 22 April 1546 in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, Spain) was a Spanish

Archbishop of Seville The Archdiocese of Seville is part of the Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's ol ...

and

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

Biography

His parents were nobles; at a very early age he entered the Dominican convent at

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritag ...

. Its severe discipline, however, affected his delicate constitution and he was transferred to the convent of St. Paul in Peñafiel where he was professed in 1495. On the completion of his studies in Alcalá, and later at the

Colegio de San Gregorio The Colegio de San Gregorio is an Isabelline style building located in the city of Valladolid, in Castile and León, Spain, it was formerly a college and now is housing the Museo Nacional de Escultura museum. This building is one of the best examp ...

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, he taught philosophy and theology. About the same time he was appointed regent of studies and for two terms filled the office of rector in San Gregorio College. In 1518 he represented his province at the general chapter held at Rome where by unanimous vote he gained the generalship of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

in succession to

Cardinal Cajetan Thomas Cajetan (; 20 February 14699 August 1534), also known as Gaetanus, commonly Tommaso de Vio or Thomas de Vio, was an Italian philosopher, theologian, cardinal (from 1517 until his death) and the Master of the Order of Preachers 1508 to 151 ...

, a position he held until 1524. After visiting the Dominican houses in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and other countries, he returned to Spain. There he made the acquaintance of

Charles V of Spain Charles V of Spain may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, who between 1516 and 1556 was also King Charles I of Spain * Charles, Count of Molina, who claimed the crown as Charles V of Spain between 1833 and 1845 See also * Charles V (disa ...

who chose him for his confessor and later, with papal sanction, offered him the

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, for which he was consecrated on 8 June 1524. Subsequently, he held several offices of political importance, such as President of the American

Council of the Indies The Council of the Indies ( es, Consejo de las Indias), officially the Royal and Supreme Council of the Indies ( es, Real y Supremo Consejo de las Indias, link=no, ), was the most important administrative organ of the Spanish Empire for the Amer ...

. In that capacity he was a proponent of the Dominican line of thought and the ''

New Laws The New Laws (Spanish: ''Leyes Nuevas''), also known as the New Laws of the Indies for the Good Treatment and Preservation of the Indians (Spanish: ''Leyes y ordenanzas nuevamente hechas por su Majestad para la gobernación de las Indias y buen t ...

'' of 1542 protecting the Native Americans; they were however revoked in 1545.Harald Kleinschmidt, ''Charles V: The World Emperor'' (2004), p. 155. On 16 May 1530

Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...

created him cardinal and transferred him to the See of Sigüenza, where he became

Bishop of Sigüenza A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

on 23 February 1532. He was made Archbishop of Seville on 23 May 1539, and became

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in 1546, the year of his death.

Legacy

His writings are limited to a few pastoral letters. G. Haine found, in the royal library at

Simancas Simancas is a town and municipality of central Spain, located in the province of Valladolid, part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is situated approximately 10 km southwest of the provincial capital Valladolid, on the ro ...

, Garcia's letters to Charles V written in the years 1530–32, of interest for the history of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

as well as for the religious and political history of Spain during that period.

References

www.catholic-hierarchy.org
*Correspondence with king

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (Crown of Castile, Castil ...

: in
Colección de documentos inéditos para la historia de España
vol. XIV, pp. 5–284". * *

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loaysa, Garcia De 1478 births 1546 deaths People from the Province of Toledo Roman Catholic archbishops of Seville 16th-century Spanish cardinals Bishops of Osma Bishops of Sigüenza Spanish Dominicans 16th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Spain Grand Inquisitors of Spain Masters of the Order of Preachers Dominican cardinals