Evangelization in the 15th century and today: Why is Pope Leo talking about Hernando de Talavera?

Who was Talavera and what does he have to teach about evangelization in the 21st century?

In his remarks this month to the Spanish bishops, Pope Leo urged the Spanish Church to reflect on and imitate the Spaniards who evangelized Spain and the world in the 15^th and 16^th centuries.

Pope Leo particularly cited the example of the “famous holy mufti [Islamic religious leader] of Granada, Friar Hernando de Talavera.”

Archbishop Talavera (seated on his episcopal throne) gives the book of the Arabic Mass to his disciple, Pedro de Alcalá. From the 1505 Arte para ligeramente saber la lengua arauiga in the library of the University of Seville. Public Domain.

Although an extremely important figure in the history of evangelization, Talavera remains relatively obscure in the English-speaking world today.

Who was Talavera and what does he have to teach about evangelization in the 21^st century?