Bartolomé de la Cueva y Toledo (24 August 1499 – 29 June 1562) was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

and

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Biography

Bartolomé de la Cueva y Toledo was born in

Cuéllar Cuéllar () is a municipality in the Province of Segovia, within the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. The municipality had a population of 9,730 inhabitants according to the municipal register of inhabitants (INE) as of 1 Janu ...

on 24 August 1499, the son of

Francisco Fernández de la Cueva, 2nd Duke of Alburquerque Francisco Fernández de la Cueva, 2nd Duke of Alburquerque (in full, ) (25 August 1467 – 4 June 1526) was a Spanish nobleman. He was the son of Don Beltrán de la Cueva, Beltrán de la Cueva, 1st Duke of Alburquerque, by first wife Doña Mencí ...

and his wife Francisca de Toledo. As a young man, before he took

Holy Orders In certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordination, ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders inclu ...

, he had an illegitimate son, Bartolomé de la Cueva. Following his ordination, he was a cleric in the

Diocese of Segovia The Diocese of Segovia () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church located in the city of Segovia in the ecclesiastical province of Valladolid in Spain.

, and a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

of the

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

Toledo Cathedral The Primatial Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption (), is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Toledo, Spain. It is the seat of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Toledo. Since 1088, it holds the honorific title of Primatial, granted by ...

. He also worked for the

Apostolic See An apostolic see is an episcopal see whose foundation is attributed to one or more of the apostles of Jesus or to one of their close associates. In Catholicism, the phrase "The Apostolic See" when capitalized refers specifically to the See of ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. In 1525, he and his brother Luis accompanied

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) ...

during the emperor's visit to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Cardinal de la Cueva did not participate in the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most ...

. He was a friend of

Ignatius of Loyola Ignatius of Loyola ( ; ; ; ; born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Basque Spaniard Catholic priest and theologian, who, with six companions, founded the religious order of the S ...

, joining Loyola's ''Sociedad de la Gracia'' at

Santa Marta al Collegio Romano Santa Marta al Collegio Romano is a deconsecrated church located in the Piazza del Collegio Romano in the Rione Pigna of Rome, Italy. History A House of Saint Martha was founded in 1543 by St Ignatius of Loyola to rehabilitate women consider ...

in Rome in 1543. He was also the patron of the first

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

church build in Rome by

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

in 1544.

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era follo ...

made him a

cardinal priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...

in the

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church *Consistor ...

of 19 December 1544. He received the

red hat Red Hat, Inc. (formerly Red Hat Software, Inc.) is an American software company that provides open source software products to enterprises and is a subsidiary of IBM. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North ...

and the

titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church () is a Churches in Rome, church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the Holy orders in the Catholic Church, clergy who is created a Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal. These are Catholic churches in ...

San Matteo in Via Merulana San Matteo in Via Merulana was a titular church in Rome, dedicated to the Apostle and Evangelist Matthew, for cardinal priests (the intermediary class). History San Matteo was first established as a titular church in 112 by Pope Alexander I, th ...

on 5 May 1546. As a cardinal, he often resided at the

papal court The papal household or pontifical household (usually not capitalized in the media and other nonofficial use, ), called until 1968 the Papal Court (''Aula Pontificia''), consists of dignitaries who assist the pope in carrying out particular ceremon ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. Charles V was annoyed that Pedro Pacheco,

Bishop of Pamplona The Archdiocese of Pamplona and Tudela () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the cities of Pamplona and Tudela in Spain.

was not elevated to the cardinalate and he forbade the three Spaniards made cardinals on 19 December 1544 from wearing the cardinalate

habit A habit (or wont, as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously. A 1903 paper in the '' American Journal of Psychology'' defined a "habit, from the standpoint of psychology, ...

until Bishop Pacheco was also made a cardinal the next year. On 12 September 1548 he was named administrator of the see of Avellino e Frigento, holding this position until 10 March 1549. On the

vigil A vigil, from the Latin meaning 'wakefulness' ( Greek: , or ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word has become generalized in this sense and means 'eve' (as in "on t ...

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 49th day (50th day when inclusive counting is used) after Easter Day, Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spiri ...

, 8 June 1549, he was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

as a

in Rome by Cardinal

Juan Álvarez de Toledo Juan Álvarez de Toledo (15 July 1488 – 15 September 1557) was a Spanish Dominican and Cardinal, from 1538. Considered ''papabile'' in the papal conclave (1549–1550), he was initially running second in votes to Reginald Pole. He was again a ...

. He participated in the papal conclave of 1549-50 that elected

Pope Julius III Pope Julius III (; ; 10 September 1487 – 23 March 1555), born Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1550 to his death, in March 1555. After a career as a disting ...

. On 4 December 1551 he opted for the titular church of

San Bartolomeo all'Isola The Basilica of St. Bartholomew on the Island (, ) is a titular minor basilica, located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 998 by Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor and contains the putative relics of St. Bartholomew the Apostle. It is located on Tib ...

. He served as

Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals The Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals was the treasurer of the College of Cardinals in the Catholic Church. The title is based on an Italian word for chamberlain, a word no longer used in secular contexts. The position existed from a ...

from 12 January 1554 to 7 January 1555. Cardinal de la Cueva participated in both the papal conclave of April 1555 that elected

Pope Marcellus II Pope Marcellus II (; 6 May 1501 – 1 May 1555), born Marcello Cervini degli Spannocchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 10 April 1555 to his death, 22 days later. He succeeded Pope Julius III. Before his ...

and the papal conclave of May 1555 that elected

Pope Paul IV Pope Paul IV (; ; 28 June 1476 – 18 August 1559), born Gian Pietro Carafa, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 May 1555 to his death, in August 1559. While serving as papal nuncio in Spain, he developed ...

. He opted for the titular church of

Santa Croce in Gerusalemme The Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem or Basilica di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme () is a Catholic Minor basilica and titular church in rione Esquilino, Rome, Italy. It is one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome. According to Christia ...

on 29 May 1555. From October 1558 to June 1559, he served as

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...

. He was a participant in the papal conclave of 1559 that elected

Pope Pius IV Pope Pius IV (; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death, in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered itself a b ...

. The new pope appointed him to a commission of cardinals tasked with studying church reform in 1560. On 13 September 1560 he was promoted to the metropolitan see of Manfredonia. He died in the former

Medici The House of Medici ( , ; ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici and his grandson Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first half of the 15th ...

palace in Rome on 29 June 1562. He was initially buried in

Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore (, also known as San Giacomo degli Spagnoli and in Spanish, Santiago de los Españoles) is a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary located in Rome's Piazza Navona. History An earlier church, San Giacomo de ...

. His remains were later transferred to the family tomb in the monastery of San Francisco in Cuéllar.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cueva y Toledo, Bartolome de la 1499 births 1562 deaths 16th-century Spanish cardinals 16th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops Bishops of Avellino Bishops in Apulia Bishops appointed by Pope Paul III Viceroys of Naples