[1] He later joined the ecclesiastical estate after obtaining a dispensation from Pope Alexander VI for having caused the death of a cleric while playing with a sword.
[1] He was freed on January 3, 1502, then traveled to Rome to act as Cardinal Sforza's procurator for dealing with the Fugger Bank.
[1] He was present at Nepi along with Cardinals Alidosi and Francesco Soderini for the meeting of Pope Julius II with the Florentine envoy, Niccolò Machiavelli.
[1] In July 1507, he again met Ferdinand II of Aragon and negotiated the League of Cambrai against the Republic of Venice.
[1] In March 1520, he left for a visit of the Diocese of León, thus beginning an unplanned 13-year absence from the papal court.
[1] His mission was initially to negotiate peace between Francis I of France and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.
[1] On June 12, 1523, Charles I of Spain named him Bishop of Jaén, with permission to retain the see of Bari (which he did until September 2, 1530).
[1] During the Italian War of 1521–1526, Pope Adrian VI in 1523 allied with imperial forces when threatened with another French invasion.
[1] After Pope Adrian VI died on September 14, 1523, Merino's nunciature ended and he passed into the service of the Holy Roman Emperor.
[1] In spring 1532, he settled with the imperial court at Regensburg, the headquarters of forces arrayed against the Ottoman Empire; he was the general supplier of the enterprise.
[1] During the second interview with Pope Clement VII at Bologna, he was one of three ministers tasked with dealing with the religious situation in Germany, along with Cardinals Alessandro Farnese, and Paolo Emilio Cesi.
[1] At the request of the emperor, Pope Clement VII made him a cardinal priest in the consistory of February 21, 1533.
[1] In that capacity, his main goals were: (1) preventing the divorce of Henry VIII of England and Catherine of Aragon; and (2) impeding the meeting of Pope Clement VII and Francis I of France for the wedding of Henry, Duke of Orléans and Catherine de' Medici.