ALFONSO OF CASTRO. - Franciscan theologian of the 16th century, b. at Zamora, in Spain, in 1495 and d. at Brussels on 3 February 1558. At the age of 16 he took the Franciscan habit at Salamanca, where he completed his theological studies, subsequently moving on to the University of Alcalá. Having returned to Salamanca, he taught theology there for about 30 years, at the same time carrying on, with great success, the ministry of preaching, also in Germany, in England and at the court of Charles V. In 1530 he took part in the debate on the validity of the marriage of Henry VIII and wrote on the subject a short work that appeared posthumously at Lyon in 1568. He took part, as theologian of Card. Pacheco, in the first sessions of the Council of Trent, carrying out considerable activity, especially in the discussions concerning original sin, the canon and the use of Holy Scripture. He was also highly expert in criminal law, so much as to earn the title of «princeps poenalistarum».
He was also designated as archbishop of Compostela, but died before being preconized.
Various works were attributed to A. Certainly his, besides the aforementioned short work and some manuscripts of lesser importance, are the following: 1) Adversus omnes haereses lib. XIV (Paris 1534); a work which, while A. was still alive, had several editions, of which the definitive one, extensively recast in 1556, appeared at Antwerp in 1560. In it, arranged in alphabetical order, all the heresies that arose from the time of the Apostles to the 16th century are enumerated and refuted; 2) Homiliae 25 in Ps. 50 (Salamanca 1537); 3) Homiliae 24 in Ps. 31 (Salamanca 1540); 4) De justa haereticorum punitione (Salamanca 1547); 5) De potestate legis poenalis (Salamanca 1550).
ALFONSO I D'ESTE duke of FERRARA.
Portrait, copy after a lost Titian - Florence, Pitti Gallery.
The Adversus Haereses, the De justa haereticorum punitione and the De potestate legis poenalis appeared at Paris, collected in one volume, in 1571 and in two volumes in 1578, together with the homiliae, with an appendix on the new heresies, probably due to the Franciscan Francesco Feuardent, who edited the edition.