Juan Lopez was born in Old Castille in 1613. He belonged to the Dominican Order of Salamanca. Arriving in Manila as a missionary he was assigned to teach Philosophy and Theology in the College of Santo Tomas. Later he became Procurator General of the Order in Madrid and Rome.
In 1661, Bishop Rodrigo de Cardenas, O.P. of Nueva Segovia, Bishop Antonio de San Gregorio, O.F.M. of Nueva Caceres, and Bishop Juan Velez of .! Cebu died one after another. The royal “cedulas” for new bishops were not issued until 1665 during which Fray Juan Lopez was proposed for the Diocese of Cebu. He was then already the Procurator of the Province of Santisimo Rosario. Without neglecting his duties as procurator, with forty other religious of his order he conducted missions throughout the islands.
After governing the Diocese of Cebu for seven years, in 1671 the King of Spain presented him for the Archdiocese of Manila which he took possession of in August 11 the following year. He died piously in the Lord on February 12, 1674. He was a great devotee of the Blessed Sacrament. He himself used to bring “viaticum” to the sick. With his death, the country was left without a bishop until 1680. For the ordination of new bishops recourse had to be made to Mexico, the mother diocese of Manila.