Melchor Liñán y Cisneros (sometimes ''Melchor de Liñán y Cisneros'') (December 19, 1629,

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 ...

– June 28, 1708,

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

) was a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

prelate who served as Archbishop of Lima (1677–1708), Archbishop of La Plata o Charcas (1672–1675), Bishop of Popayán (1667–1672), and Bishop of Santa Marta (1664–1668). ''(in Latin)'' He also served as Viceroy of Peru from July 7, 1678, to November 20, 1681.
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Biography

Melchor de Liñán y Cisneros was born in

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 ...

. He studied theology in the University of Alcalá de Henares, where he took his doctorate. Thereafter he was chaplain in

Buitrago Buitrago is a municipality located in the province of Soria, Soria, Spain. According to the 2004 census ( INE), the municipality had a population of 55 inhabitants. Historically, a Jewish community was present in Buitrago. Its first written do ...

. He was also ''calificador'' (censor) of the Holy Office of the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...

. On October 6, 1664,

Pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII (; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death, in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, and he held various d ...

, appointed him Bishop of Santa Marta. In 1665, he was consecrated bishop by Antonio Sanz Lozano, Bishop of Cartagena. On January 26, 1668,

Pope Clement IX Pope Clement IX (; ; 28 January 1600 – 9 December 1669), born Giulio Rospigliosi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 20 June 1667 to his death in December 1669. Giulio Rospigliosi was born into the noble Ro ...

, appointed him Bishop of Popayán. In 1671, he was sent as ''visitador'' (inspector) to Nuevo Reino de Granada in what is now Colombia because of the inaction of Diego de Villalba y Toledo, president of the '' Audiencia''. He replaced Villabla in that position on June 2, 1671. At the same time he served as interim governor and captain general of Nuevo Reino de Granada. On February 8, 1672, Pope Clement X, appointed him Archbishop of La Plata o Charcas. On June 14, 1677,

Pope Innocent XI Pope Innocent XI (; ; 16 May 1611 – 12 August 1689), born Benedetto Odescalchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 September 1676 until his death on 12 August 1689. Political and religious tensions with ...

appointed him Archbishop of Lima. On July 7, 1678, he was appointed viceroy of Peru serving until November 20, 1681. As viceroy, he improved the fortifications of the port of

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists ...

to defend against attacks by Dutch

filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent a decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking ...

s. He repressed rebellions of the clergy, who were opposed to the nomination of prelates from Spain—the

Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...

in Cuzco and the

Dominicans Dominicans () also known as Quisqueyans () are an ethnic group, ethno-nationality, national people, a people of shared ancestry and culture, who have ancestral roots in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican ethnic group was born out of a fusio ...

Quito Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...

. On the death of the Peruvian astronomer Doctor Francisco Ruiz Lozano, Viceroy Liñán y Cisneros (with the approval of the Crown) gave mathematics a permanent position in the University of San Marcos. Mathematics was attached to the chair of cosmography. Doctor Juan Ramón Koening, a Belgian by birth, was named to the chair.
/sup> As a reward for his services, the Spanish Crown granted Liñán y Cisneros the title of ''conde de la Puebla de los Valles''. He wrote ''Ofensa y defensa de la libertad eclesiástica'' (''Offense and Defence of Ecclesiastical Liberty''). He died in Lima in 1708.

Episcopal succession

While bishop, he was the principal

consecrator A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches ...

of:

References

External links and additional sources