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Abstract:  Gaspar Borja y Velasco (1580-1645), was made cardinal in 1611 on the request of Philip III of Habsburg and sent to Rome in 1612 to give a new impetus to the Spanish faction, seriously compromised by the French initiative and by the limited diplomatic capacity of ambassador Francisco de Castro. Thanks to his ability as a mediator, the young cardinal, who knew how to reconcile his sovereign’s interests with those of the Pope, gained considerable prestige, to the point of being nominated ambassador ad interim (1616). In three years of activity, his diplomacy proved highly successful, as evidenced by the cardinal’s hat and the archdiocese of Toledo obtained for the Infant Ferdinand that allowed him to consolidate his personal position. At the beginning of Philip IV’s reign (1621) it seemed that he would have to return to Spain; instead he remained in Rome, where he played a major role during the 1623 conclave in which Urban VIII was elected.