Alessandro Geraldini

Alessandro Geraldini (also Gerardini or Gueraldini) (1455 – March 8, 1524) was a Renaissance humanist scholar at the Spanish court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. He is known for his support of Christopher Columbus. He served as tutor to the royal children and later accompanied the Infanta Catharine of Aragon to England, as her confessor. He served as Bishop of Vulturara e Montecorvino (1496-1516);[1] and in 1519, at 64 years of age, he traveled to the Spanish settlements in the New World, and became Bishop of Santo Domingo (1516-1524).[2]

Most Reverend Alessandro Geraldini
Bishop of Santo Domingo
Church	Catholic Church
Diocese	Diocese of Santo Domingo
In office	1516-1524
Predecessor	Francisco Garcia de Padilla
Successor	Luis de Figueroa
Orders
Consecration	1496
Personal details
Born	1455 Amelia, Italy
Died	March 8, 1524 (age 69) Santo Domingo
Previous post	Bishop of Vulturara e Montecorvino (1496-1516)
Coat of arms

Biography

Geraldini was born in Amelia, in the region of Umbria in Italy. As a young man, he went to Spain, where he served against the Portuguese in 1475/1476. He entered the Church and was entrusted with the education of the princesses of the royal family. While at court, he supported Columbus, who had come to present to the sovereigns of Castile and Aragon his plan for discovering a new road to India and the Far East.

In 1496, he was appointed by the King of Spain and confirmed by Pope Alexander VI as Bishop of Vulturara e Montecorvino.[3][4] On November 23, 1516, he was nominated by the King of Spain and confirmed by Pope Leo X as Bishop of Santo Domingo[3] and embarked at Seville. Geraldini wrote a great many works on theology, letters, poetry, a biography of Catharine of Aragon, treatises on politics and education, and an important account of his voyage to the Antilles. Geraldini served as Bishop of Santo Domigo until his death on March 8, 1524.[3]

Geraldini attended one of the sessions of the Fifth Council of the Lateran in 1516, likely making him the first cleric from the Western Hemisphere to attend a Roman Catholic Ecumenical Council.[5]

References

1. Eubel, Konrad (1914). Hierarchia catholica medii et recentioris aevi. Vol. II (second ed.). Münster: Libreria Regensbergiana. p. 271. (in Latin)
2. Eubel, Konrad (1923). Hierarchia catholica medii et recentioris aevi. Vol. III (second ed.). Münster: Libreria Regensbergiana. pp. 187 note 2. (in Latin)
3. Cheney, David M. "Bishop Alejandro Geraldini (Gerardini, Gueraldini)". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Retrieved June 16, 2018. ^{[self-published]}
4. Chow, Gabriel. "Bishop Alejandro Geraldini". GCatholic.org. Retrieved June 16, 2018. ^{[self-published]}
5. Hefele, Hergenroether and Leclercq. Histoire des conciles, vol. VIII/1 (Paris, 1917), pp. 522-523

External links and additional sources

• Cheney, David M. "Diocese of Vulturara e Montecorvino". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Retrieved June 16, 2018. (for Chronology of Bishops) ^{[self-published]}
• Chow, Gabriel. "Titular Episcopal See of Vulturara (Italy)". GCatholic.org. Retrieved June 16, 2018. (for Chronology of Bishops) ^{[self-published]}
• Cheney, David M. "Archdiocese of Santo Domingo". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Retrieved March 25, 2018. (for Chronology of Bishops) ^{[self-published]}
• Chow, Gabriel. "Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santo Domingo". GCatholic.org. Retrieved March 25, 2018. (for Chronology of Bishops) ^{[self-published]}

Further reading

• Mattingly, Garett (1941), Catherine of Aragon, Boston: Little, Brown & Company