View source for Charles of Lorraine (bishop of Metz and Strasbourg)

{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = Cardinal
| image = Karl von Lothringen Bischof Strassburg.jpg
| title =
| name = Charles of Lorraine
| diocese = [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Metz|Metz]]
| other_post =
*[[Bishop of Strasbourg]] ''1592–1607''
*Cardinal-deacon of [[Sant'Agata de' Goti, Rome|Sant'Agata de' Goti]] ''1591–1607''
| appointed = 18 July 1578
| term_end = 24 November 1607
| created_cardinal_by = [[Pope Sixtus V]]
| cardinal = 20 December 1589
| rank = [[Cardinal-deacon]]
| birth_date = 1 July 1567
| birth_place = [[Nancy, France]]
| death_date = 24 November 1607 (aged 40)
| death_place = [[Nancy, France]]
}}
'''Charles of Lorraine''' (1 July 1567 – 24 November 1607) was the [[Roman Catholic]] [[Bishop of Metz]] (from 18 July 1578) and [[Bishop of Strasbourg|Strasbourg]] (from 1 July 1592). Pope [[Sixtus V]] made him a [[Cardinal (Catholic Church)|cardinal-deacon]] in 1589, and in 1591 gave him the titular church of [[Sant'Agata dei Goti]]. He regularly served as [[stadtholder]] (regent) for his father in the duchies of [[Duchy of Lorraine|Lorraine]] and [[Duchy of Bar|Bar]].<ref name=SB>[http://www.saarland-biografien.de/Lorraine-Charles-de "Lorraine, Charles de"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112101115/http://www.saarland-biografien.de/Lorraine-Charles-de |date=2013-11-12 }}. ''Saarländische Biografien''.</ref>
Charles was born at [[Nancy, France|Nancy]], the capital of Lorraine. He was the second son of Duke [[Charles III of Lorraine|Charles III]] and [[Claude of France (1547–1575)|Claude de France]], daughter of King [[Henry II of France|Henry II]]. He studied at the [[University of Pont-à-Mousson]], which his father had founded, and at the [[University of Trier]] before moving to the [[University of Paris|Sorbonne]] in Paris.<ref name=SB/>
Charles was marked out for a career in the church. He was appointed bishop while still a child. He received [[canonries]] in the cathedrals of [[Trier Cathedral|Trier]], [[Cologne Cathedral|Cologne]], [[Mainz Cathedral|Mainz]] and [[Strasbourg Cathedral|Strasbourg]]. He was also elected [[abbot]] of the abbeys of [[Gorze Abbey|Gorze]], [[Clairlieu Abbey|Clairlieu]], [[Saint Mihiel Abbey|Saint-Mihiel]], [[Abbey of Saint-Vincent, Metz|Saint-Vincent in Metz]] and [[Abbey of Saint Victor, Paris|Saint-Victor in Paris]].<ref name=SB/>
As bishop of Metz, Charles instituted the [[Council of Trent|Tridentine]] reforms with the help of the [[Society of Jesus]]. He presided over a diocesan synod in 1588, whereat the [[Minim (religious order)|Minims]] and [[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin|Capuchins]] were established in Metz. On 23 June 1591 he was appointed [[apostolic legate]] for the "[[Three Bishoprics]]" (Metz, Verdun and Toul) that fell under French rule.<ref name=SB/>
In 1592, there was a disputed episcopal election in the diocese of Strasbourg. The local [[Protestants]] chose [[Johann Georg von Brandenburg]], while the Catholic canons fled to [[Saverne]]. There, on 9 June, they elected Charles, one of their own since 1585, as bishop in opposition to Georg. The result was [[Strasbourg Bishops' War|a war between the rival factions]] that lasted until 1604.{{sfn|Wilson|2014|pp=210–11}}{{sfn|Monter|2007|pp=78–79}}{{sfn|Bornert|1981|p=68}} On 1 July Pope [[Clement VIII]] confirmed Charles as administrator of the diocese of Strasbourg.<ref name=SB/>
At Saverne, Charles was joined by his 20-year-old brother [[Francis II, Duke of Lorraine|Francis]], who brought with him forty cavalrymen. During his time at Saverne, raising troops for war, his treasury, managed at Paris by Stefano del Poggio, disbursed 15,386 [[franc]]s.{{sfn|Monter|2007|pp=78–79}} His first invasion, in 1592, was stopped by Protestant forces under [[Christian of Anhalt]].{{sfn|Wilson|2014|pp=210–11}} In 1593, he spent another 35,392 francs on a military campaign in [[Alsace]].{{sfn|Monter|2007|pp=78–79}} In September 1593, through the mediation of King [[Henry IV of France]], the bishopric was divided between the contending prelates: seven districts, including Saverne, went to Charles. This division persisted until 1604, when Georg ceded his rights to Charles, who became sole bishop.{{sfn|Wilson|2014|pp=210–11}}
In 1596, following the example of [[Charles Borromeo]], Charles made his first pastoral visit to Strasbourg. In 1597 he oversaw the production of a new [[missal]] for the Catholic clergy. In 1597 he founded a Jesuit [[novitiate]] in Nancy. He promoted the pilgrimage sites of [[Mont Sainte-Odile Abbey|Mont Sainte-Odile]] and [[Marienthal Priory]] in [[Haguenau]]. In 1603 Charles was confirmed by Clement VIII as the [[Primate (church)|primate]] of Lorraine with his seat and [[Nancy Cathedral|primatial church in Nancy]]. Following the end of the war in 1604, Charles held a diocesan synod in 1605.<ref name=SB/>
Charles died at Nancy and was buried in the primatial church, today the cathedral.<ref name=SB/>
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==Sources==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book|first=René |last=Bornert |title=La réforme protestante du culte à Strasbourg au XVI<sup>e</sup> siècle (1523–1598): Approche sociologique et interprétation théologique |trans-title=The Protestant Reformation in Strasbourg in the Sixteenth Century (1523–1598): Sociological Approach and Theological Interpretation |language=fr|year=1981 |publisher=Brill|location=Leiden |isbn=978-9004062641}}
*{{cite book |first=William |last=Monter |title=A Bewitched Duchy: Lorraine and Its Dukes, 1477–1736 |publisher=Librairie Droz |year=2007|isbn=978-2-600-01165-5}}
* {{cite book|first=Peter|last=Wilson|title=The Thirty Years War: Europe's Tragedy|publisher=Belknap Press|location=London|year=2014|isbn=978-0674062313}}
{{refend}}
{{authority control}}
[[Category:1567 births]]
[[Category:1607 deaths]]
[[Category:16th-century French cardinals]]
[[Category:Bishops of Metz]]
[[Category:Bishops of Strasbourg]]
[[Category:House of Lorraine]]