Torquemada, Juan de

Torquemada, Juan de

(hwän dā tôrkāmä`thä), 1388–1468, Spanish churchman, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church; an uncle of Tomás de Torquemada. He entered (1403) the Dominican order and later participated in the councils of Constance and Basel, where he strenuously defended the supreme papal authority against the conciliar theory. He was made a cardinal by Pope Eugene IV in 1439 and was sent on diplomatic missions. He wrote several theological works.