Grand Inquisitor ( la, Inquisitor Generalis, literally ''Inquisitor General'' or ''General Inquisitor'') was the lead official of the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

. The title usually refers to the chief inquisitor of the

Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition ( es, Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition ( es, Inquisición española), was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand ...

, 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 The Portuguese Inquisition ( Portuguese: ''Inquisição Portuguesa''), officially known as the General Council of the Holy Office of the Inquisition in Portugal, was formally established in Portugal in 1536 at the request of its king, John III. ...

was headed by a Grand Inquisitor, or General Inquisitor, named by the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

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

Separation of Inquisitions of Castile and Aragon

Castile

Aragon

Reunification of the Inquisitions

List of inquisitors-general of Portugal

External links

''Council of Inquisition'': List of Grand Inquisitors

References

{{Authority control Spanish Inquisition Portuguese Inquisition

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