Alonso de Aragón

Alonso was more a politician than a clergyman. He was five years old when his father Ferdinand and grandfather King John II of Aragon decided he would enter the Church. When Juan de Aragón, Archbishop of Zaragoza and John's illegitimate son, died in 1475, John and Ferdinand chose Alonso to succeed him. Pope Sixtus IV thought that he was too young and appointed Cardinal Ausiàs Despuig. In 1478, Sixtus yielded to their pressure, deposed Ausias, and appointed Alonso as archbishop on 14 August. However, he was not ordained as a priest until 7 November 1501, a day before being ordained as a bishop. On 23 January 1512, Alonso was also appointed Archbishop of Valencia. He was enthroned as such on 4 April 1512. == Political career ==

His father made him Lieutenant General of the Kingdom of Naples in 1507, to replace Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba. In 1512, he was in command of the troops that conquered Tudela in the Spanish conquest of Iberian Navarre. When his father died in 1516, the Archbishop was appointed by his will as Lieutenant General of Aragon and de facto ruler of Aragon, due to the alleged insanity of his half-sister, Queen Joanna, who inherited the crown. When Joanna's son and co-ruler, Charles I, arrived in November 1518, the Archbishop was confirmed as Lieutenant General of Aragon. He died two years later in Lécera. Aragón also realised important modifications on the La Seo Cathedral, where he was buried. == Issue ==

Despite being Archbishop, Alonso had seven children with Ana de Gurrea (1470–1527), including: • Juan (1498–1530), next Archbishop of Zaragoza • Hernando (1498–1575), also Archbishop of Zaragoza and Viceroy of Aragón • Antonio (died 1552), Lord of Quinto • Juana (died 1520), married to Juan de Borja, 3rd Duke of Gandía and mother of Saint Francis Borgia • Martin, Lord of Argavieso • Ana, married the 5th and the 6th Duke of Medina Sidonia == Arms ==

File:Arms of Alonso of Aragon.svg|Former arms of Alonso of Aragon File:Coat of Arms of Archbishop Alonso of Aragon.svg|Arms as archbishop (and Lieutenant General) == References ==