 He was the oldest of the seven children of Juan González del Castrillo and Sancha Martínez, a wealthy family of the city.González received his early education from the monks of the in his native city, a leading religious and educational center in the region known as the Cluny of Spain.He received the tonsure while still a youth, according to the custom of the times, after which his father procured for him the benefice of the neighboring parish of Tornillo.