Rodrigo de Castro Osorio (5 March 1523 – 20 September 1600) was a Spanish

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

and churchman. He was Bishop of Zamora (1574–1578) and the Diocese of Cuenca (1578–1581),

Archbishop of Seville The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Seville () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Seville, Spain. The Diocese of Seville was founded in the 3rd century. It was raised to the level of an archdiocese in the 4th century. The curren ...

, (1581–1600), a member of the Council of State of Spain and the Supreme Council of the

Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition () was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile and lasted until 1834. It began toward the end of ...

during the reign of

Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...

. He was the Great-uncle of Pedro Fernández de Castro y Andrade, Conde de

Lemos Lemos is a Portuguese-language surname. It can be also Greek (). Notable people by that name include: Portuguese surname * Álvaro Lemos (born 1993), Spanish footballer * Amanda Lemos (born 1987), Brazilian mixed martial artist * Ana Cláudia ...

. He was closely linked to the city of

Monforte de Lemos Monforte de Lemos is a town and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in northwestern Spain, in the province of Lugo (province), Lugo, Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It covers an area of 200 km2 and lies 62 km from Lugo. As of 2017 it had a ...

in Galicia, where he was the founder of the College of Our Lady of Antigua.

Travels and studies

Popularly known as Cardinal Rodrigo de Castro, he was a

renaissance man A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...

, considered by many authors as the last great ecclesiastical prince. His birthplace is disputed, with some authors arguing that he was born in

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

in 1523. He studied canon law at

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

, where his brother, Pedro de Castro Lemos, who later became bishop of Cuenca (1553–1561), was named cardinal on 15 December 1583, by

Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII (, , born Ugo Boncompagni; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake ...

. His restless spirit led him to travel across Flanders, Portugal, France, Italy, and Germany (Farinelli indicates his last trip, made in 1598, two years before his death, was by order of

Philip III of Spain Philip III (; 14 April 1578 – 31 March 1621) was King of Spain and King of Portugal, Portugal (where he is known as Philip II of Portugal) during the Iberian Union. His reign lasted from 1598 until his death in 1621. He held dominion over the S ...

, to receive the Archduchess Margaret of Austria, future queen of Spain. This is a manuscript in folio, a collection of Jesuit Alenda registered No 365: "quel Cardinal my Jornada Mr. made from Seville to Madrid and what they pass until they left for Valencia, Year 1598 ")

Features and charges

Rodrigo de Castro was assigned an important role in the court of

, where he was given important diplomatic missions, in addition to joining the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

and the Supreme Council of the

. The cardinal was widely criticized for his taste for pomp and magnificence. He held expensive hunting parties, and large numbers of attendants and servants, besides the taste for luxury and art. He felt a great fondness for

falconry Falconry is the hunting of wild animals in their natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey. Small animals are hunted; squirrels and rabbits often fall prey to these birds. Two traditional terms are used to describe a person ...

, which is recorded by the "Treaty ''hunting ''Bird" by

Pero López de Ayala Don Pero (or Pedro) López de Ayala (1332–1407) was a Castilian statesman, historian, poet, chronicler, chancellor, and courtier. Life Pero López de Ayala was born in 1332 at Vitoria, County of Alava, Kingdom of Castile, as the son of Fer ...

, which is preserved at the Museum of Our Lady of Antigua, which belonged to his personal collection. Criticism also arose over the

to surround himself exclusively with servants and associates from Galicia. His other traits were his generosity and humanism, creating a home for girls in difficult circumstances, struggling for humanization of treatment in prisons and aid to impoverished clergy aid for construction and improvement of temples, hospitals and hospices, as well as exercise patron of the arts. The Maestro de capillo, Cristóbal de Medrano, a prominent musician in Castro's private music chapel, dedicated his ''Missa Voce Mea'' to the Cardinal-Archbishop Rodrigo de Castro, in 1594.

College of Our Lady of Antigua and death

During convalescence from a serious illness, during 1592, Rodrigo decided to start the monumental work of the College of Our Lady of Antigua. Administered, at the beginning, by the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

, had consolidated financially the College of

Jerez de la Frontera Jerez de la Frontera () or simply Jerez, also cited in old English-language sources as , is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Sp ...

, and contributed to the maintenance of the college-seminar of the British Jesuits from

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

and since its foundation, in addition to being instituted a protector of the congregations that the company had in that city, that of the Annunciation.A. Cotarelo Valedor, Don Cardinal Rodrigo de Castro, Spanish Teacher, 1945 The school was his greatest legacy to

, making it one of the very few examples of Herrerian style in Galicia. It is named after the Virgin of Antigua, the object of devotion of the cardinal, and popularly named the Cardinal College, or Company. About this same time, the cardinal established a party in honor of the relics that had been treasured and preserved in the museum of the convent of Santa Clara (popularly known as the Poor Clares of Monforte). The Madrid writing school's endowment is awarded, and his nephew Pedro Fernández de Castro y Andrade would develop in his lifetime many of the features of humanism and love for the arts like his uncle. He died in

in 1600. Leaving in his will the perpetual and hereditary Trustees of the college, referred to in these terms:''For good and useful for my country''; that patronage is bound and tied to the title of county of Lemos. It also provides for the transfer of his remains to

, which lie in the College of Our Lady of Antigua, under a statue made by John of Bologna.

References

External links and additional sources

* (for Chronology of Bishops) * (for Chronology of Bishops)

Sources

* ''Los señores de Galicia'' (''The Lords of Galicia''), Eduardo Pardo de Guevara y Valdés, *''History of Monforte de Lemos and Earth'', Vazquez Germain, *''Pedro Fernandez de Castro, O Great Conde de Lemos'', Monica Martinez Garcia, *''The Cardinal'', Don Rodrigo de Castro, Armando Cotarelo Vallador, 2 vols. Editorial Teaching Spanish, Madrid, 1945. {{DEFAULTSORT:De Castro Osorio, Rodrigo Roman Catholic archbishops of Seville University of Salamanca alumni