Juan Bautista de Acevedo y Muñoz (1555 – 8 July 1608) was a Spanish churchman who was Patriarch of the West Indies. He had been Bishop of Valladolid from 1601 to 1606 and

Grand Inquisitor Grand Inquisitor (, literally ''Inquisitor General'' or ''General Inquisitor'') was the highest-ranked official of the Inquisition. The title usually refers to the inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition, in charge of appeals and cases of aristoc ...

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 ...

from 1603 to 1608.

Biography

Juan Bautista de Acevedo y Muñoz was born in Hoz de Anero,

Trasmiera Trasmiera (Spanish: ''Trasmiera''; Cantabrian and historically: ''Tresmiera'') is a historic ''comarca'' of Cantabria (Spain), located to the east of the Miera River (''tras'' Miera, meaning behind Miera, from the point of view of Asturias de S ...

in 1555, the son of Juan González de Acevedo and of Sancha González Muñoz. Born into a distinguished but not rich family, he was the eldest of eleven children, only three of which reached adulthood. His brother Francisco became ''

merino The Merino is a list of sheep breeds, breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monop ...

'' of Trasmiera; and his brother Fernando was

Bishop of Osma The Diocese of Osma-Soria () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in northern Spain. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Burgos. Its cathedral ...

1610-13 and Archbishop of Burgos 1613-29. Juan was educated at the

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 ...

grammar school in

León, Spain León (; ) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the province of León, part of the autonomous community of Castile and León, in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. It has a population of 124,303 (2019), ...

and then at the

University of Salamanca The University of Salamanca () is a public university, public research university in Salamanca, Spain. Founded in 1218 by Alfonso IX of León, King Alfonso IX, it is the oldest university in the Hispanic world and the fourth oldest in the ...

, where he studied

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

and

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

. A bright student, he drew the attention of

Andrés Santos de Sampedro Andres or Andrés may refer to: *Andres, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Will County, Illinois, US *Andres, Pas-de-Calais, a commune in Pas-de-Calais, France *Andres (name) *Hurricane Andres * "Andres" (song), a 1994 song by L7 See also ...

Archbishop of Zaragoza The Archdiocese of Saragossa (; ) is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church located in north-eastern Spain, in the province of Zaragoza (Saragossa in English), part of the autonomous community of Aragón. The archdiocese heads the ecclesiastical ...

, who chose him as his nephews' tutor, first in León, then in

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

. He later received a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

from the

University of Lleida The University of Lleida (officially in Catalan: ''Universitat de Lleida'') is a university based in Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. It was the first university founded in Catalonia and in the ancient Crown of Aragon. It was founded in 1300, using the ...

. Upon the death of Archbishop Santos in 1586, he moved to

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, where Gaspar de Quiroga y Vela planned to make him an

inquisitor An inquisitor was an official (usually with judicial or investigative functions) in an inquisition – an organization or program intended to eliminate heresy and other things contrary to the doctrine or teachings of the Catholic faith. Literall ...

, though he never actually appointed him to the post. Instead, the Marquis of Denia (who was later the

favourite A favourite was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In Post-classical Europe, post-classical and Early modern Europe, early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated signifi ...

Philip III of Spain Philip III (; 14 April 1578 – 31 March 1621) was King of Spain and King of Portugal, Portugal (where he is known as Philip II of Portugal) during the Iberian Union. His reign lasted from 1598 until his death in 1621. He held dominion over the S ...

) chose him as tutor for his son

Cristóbal Cristóbal or Cristobal, the Spanish version of Christopher, is a masculine given name and a surname which may refer to: Given name *Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895–1972), Spanish fashion designer *Cristóbal Cobo (born 1976), Chilean academic * Cr ...

. As a member of the Marquis' household, he became prominent at court, where he was associated with Mateo Vázquez de Leca and García Loaysa y Girón.

Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...

appointed him to the Chapel Royal and offered to make him

Bishop of Naples The Archdiocese of Naples () is a Latin Catholic archdiocese in southern Italy, the see being in Naples. A Christian community was founded there in the 1st century AD and the diocese of Naples was raised to the level of an Archdiocese in the 10 ...

, but Acevedo refused the appointment. He was named administrator of the Convent of Santa Isabel in 1592. He was made 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

León Cathedral Santa María de Regla de León Cathedral is a Catholic church, the episcopal see of the diocese of León in the city of León, Castile and León, north-western Spain, consecrated under the name of the Virgin Mary. It was the first monument d ...

in 1598, and of the Cathedral of Toledo a short time later. In 1600, the new king, Philip III, offered to make Acevedo

Bishop of Tortosa The bishop of Tortosa is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tortosa in Catalonia, Spain.

, but he again refused the appointment. Acevedo was appointed Bishop of Valladolid on 30 April 1601 and 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

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 ...

Fernando Niño de Guevara Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, and former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa and Asia (like the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka). It is e ...

Archbishop of Seville The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Seville () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Seville, Spain. The Diocese of Seville was founded in the 3rd century. It was raised to the level of an archdiocese in the 4th century. The curren ...

, on 17 June 1601. Following the death of

Juan de Zúñiga Flores ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philipp ...

, Acevedo was appointed in 1603 Grand Inquisitor of Spain. He was appointed Patriarch of the West Indies on 16 January 1606. Avecedo resigned as Bishop of Valladolid on 28 April 1606, returning to the court at Madrid. He died in Valladolid on 8 July 1608 as a result of complications related to a

renal colic Renal colic (literally, kidney pain), also known as ureteric colic (literally, pain in the ureters), is characterized by severe abdominal pain that is spasmodic in nature. This pain is primarily caused by an obstruction of one or both ureters fr ...

. He was initially buried in the Church of San Martín in Valladolid. He was reburied in the family chapel at the ''Palacio de los Acebedo de Hoznayo'' in 1618.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Acevedo, Juan Bautista De 1555 births 1608 deaths Grand Inquisitors of Spain 17th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Spain 17th-century Spanish clergy University of Salamanca alumni University of Lleida alumni