# Grand Inquisitor

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

| From | To | Grand Inquisitor | Other positions held |
| 1483 | 1498 | Tomás de Torquemada | Prior of the Dominican Convent of Santa Cruz, Segovia, 1477–1498 |
| 1499 | 1506 | Diego de Deza Tavera | Archbishop of Seville |
| 1506 | 1507 | Diego Ramírez de Guzmán | Bishop of Catania, Bishop of Lugo |

### Separation of Inquisitions of Castile and Aragon
#### Castile

| From | To | Grand Inquisitor | Other positions held |
| 1507 | 1517 | Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros | Cardinal, Archbishop of Toledo |

#### Aragon

| From | To | Grand Inquisitor | Other positions held |
| 1507 | 1513 | Juan Enguera | Bishop of Vich, Bishop of Lleida, Bishop of Tortosa |
| 1513 | 1516 | Luis Mercader Escolano | Bishop of Tortosa |
| 1516 | 1517 | Adrian of Utrecht | Cardinal priest of Ss. Giovanni e Paolo, Bishop of Tortosa, later Pope |

### Reunification of the Inquisitions

| 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) |
| 1818 | 1820 | Gerónimo Castillón y Salas | Bishop of Tarazona |

## List of inquisitors-general of Portugal

* 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.