Grand Inquisitor (Latin : Inquisitor Generalis , 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 aristocratic importance, even after the reunification of the inquisitions. Secretaries-general of the Roman Inquisition were often styled as Grand Inquisitor but the role and functions were different.
The Portuguese Inquisition was headed by a Grand Inquisitor, or General Inquisitor, named by the Pope but selected by the king, always from within the royal family.
The most famous Inquisitor General was the Spanish Dominican Tomás de Torquemada , who spearheaded the Spanish Inquisition.
List of Spanish Grand Inquisitors
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Tomás de Torquemada , Grand Inquisitor of Spain (1483–1498)
Diego de Deza , Grand Inquisitor of Spain (1498–1507)
Separation of Inquisitions of Castile and Aragon
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Adrian of Utrecht , Grand Inquisitor of Spain (1518–1522)
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)
Reunification of the Inquisitions
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From
To
Grand Inquisitor
Other positions held
1518
1522
Adrian of Utrecht
Cardinal priest of Ss. Giovanni e Paolo , Bishop of Tortosa , later Pope
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 assume this office.
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
Commissioned as Grand Inquisitor but did not serve.
1717
1717
José de Molines
Proclaimed in Rome, but detained 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)[ 2]
1818
1820
Gerónimo Castillón y Salas
Bishop of Tarazona
List of inquisitors-general of Portugal
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D. Diogo da Silva (1536–1539), Archbishop of Braga .
Cardinal Dom Henrique (1539–1579), Archbishop of Braga , became King of Portugal.
D. Manuel de Meneses (1578–1578), Bishop of Lamego and Bishop of Coimbra , killed at the Battle of Alcácer Quibir .
D. Jorge de Almeida (1580–1585), Archbishop of Lisbon .
Albert VII, Archduke of Austria (1586–1593), Cardinal and Archbishop of Toledo , Viceroy of Portugal .
D. António de Matos de Noronha (1596–1602), Bishop of Elvas .
D. Jorge de Ataíde (1602), Bishop of Viseu , refused the position.
D. Alexandre de Bragança, (1602–1604), Archbishop of Evora .
D. Pedro de Castilho (1605–1615), Grand Chaplain of King Philip II of Portugal .
D. Fernando Martins Mascarenhas (1615–1628), Bishop of Algarve and Bishop of Faro .
D. Francisco de Castro, (1630–1653), Bishop of Guarda .
D. Sebastião César de Meneses (1663–1668). Appointed by King Afonso VI of Portugal , but not confirmed by Pope Alexander VII due to the lack of recognition of the new Portuguese State by the Holy See .
D. Pedro de Lencastre (1671–1673), Archbishop of Braga and Duke of Aveiro .
D. Veríssimo de Lencastre (1676–1692), Archbishop of Braga .
D. Frei José de Lencastre (1693–1705), Bishop of Bragança-Miranda and Bishop of Leiria .
D. Nuno da Cunha e Ataíde (1707–1750), Grand Chaplain of King Pedro II of Portugal and John V of Portugal .
D. José de Bragança (1758–1760), bastard son of John V of Portugal .
D. João Cosme da Cunha (1770–1783), Archbishop of Evora and minister of Justice.
Frei Inácio de São Caetano (1787–1788), confessor of Queen Maria I of Portugal .
D. José Maria de Melo (1790–1818), Bishop of Algarve , Bishop of Faro and confessor of Queen Maria I of Portugal .
D. José Joaquim da Cunha Azeredo Coutinho (1818-1821), Bishop of Elvas .[ 3]