Alonso Manso

Who was Alonso Manso?

Bishop Alonso Manso was a Spanish bishop born in Becerril de Campos, Spain. He studied theology at the University of Salamanca. He became the canon of Salamanca and the chaplain of the prince Don Juan. On November 15, 1504 he was appointed bishop of Magua, Dominican Republic. On August 8, 1511, Pope Julius II created three dioceses in the New World, two in Hipaniola and one in Porto Rico [sic], and Manso was appointed bishop of the diocese of Porto Rico. Before even arriving to Puerto Rico on September 26, 1512, he founded the first school of advanced studies. On 1513, he became the first bishop to arrive in the New World. In 1519, at the request of Bishop Manso the diocese of Puerto Rico was expanded to cover all the Leeward Islands. That same year he was appointed as the first Inquisitor General of the Indies and two years later he directed the construction of the Cathedral of San Juan. However, the cathedral would be completely destroyed by a hurricane in 1539, shortly after his death.

Bishop Manso, as was customary at the time, became involved in politics. He became the eighth governor of Puerto Rico in 1523.