Juan Pardo de Tavera

Coat of arms of archbishop.

Juan Pardo de Tavera was born in Toro, Zamora on 16 May 1472, the son of Ares Pardo and Guiomar Tavera.[2] On his mother's side, he was the nephew of Diego Deza, who would serve as his patron and mentor.[2] He studied at the University of Salamanca, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1500 and a Licentiate of Canon Law in 1505.[2] He became the rector of the university in 1505.[2]

His uncle named him a member of the cathedral chapter of Seville Cathedral in 1505.[2] Ferdinand II of Aragon named him auditor of the Spanish Inquisition in 1506.[2] He was elected Bishop of Ciudad Rodrigo on 14 July 1514 and consecrated as a bishop later that year.[2] Cardinal Adrian of Utrecht appointed him as a diplomat to negotiate the marriage of Charles I of Spain to Isabella of Portugal, and of John III of Portugal with Catherine of Castile.[2] He was translated to the see of Osma on 31 December 1523.[2] He was promoted to Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela on 8 June 1524.[2] He became president of the royal council in 1524 and held that office for the next fifteen years.[2] He presided over the Cortes Generales held in Toledo (1525), Valladolid (1527), Madrid (1528), Valladolid (1537), and Toledo (1538).[2]

Pope Clement VII made Juan Pardo de Tavera a cardinal priest at the consistory of 22 February 1531.[2] He subsequently received the red hat and the title of San Giovanni a Porta Latina at the consistory of 27 April 1531.[2]

He was transferred to the see of Toledo on 27 April 1534, thus becoming Primate of Spain.[2]

Following the death of Isabella of Portugal on 1 May 1539, Charles V appointed Juan Pardo de Tavera regent of Castile in his absence, a post he would hold until 1541.[2] At the same time, he was appointed Grand Inquisitor of Spain on 10 June 1539 and he began his duties as Grand Inquisitor on 7 December 1539.[2]

He died in Valladolid on 1 August 1545.[2] He was buried in the Hospital de San Juan Bautista de Toledo, in a marble tomb designed by Alonso Berruguete.[2] While Bishop, he was the principal consecrator of Esteban Almeida, Bishop of Astorga (1540); Durante Duranti, Bishop of Alghero (1540); Antoine Perrenot de Granvella, Bishop of Arras (1542); St. Tomás Garcia Martinez (de Villanueva), Archbishop of Valencia in Spain (1544); and Juan Bernal Díaz de Luco, Bishop of Calahorra y La Calzada (1545).[1]

• Biography (Ducal House of Medinaceli Foundation) (in Spanish)
• Hospital de San Juan Bautista: Through its history (Ducal House of Medinaceli Foundation)