Charles of Lorraine

Charles of Lorraine (1 July 1567 – 24 November 1607) was the Roman Catholic Bishop of Metz (from 18 July 1578) and Strasbourg (from 1 July 1592). Pope Sixtus V made him a 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 Lorraine and Bar. Charles was born at Nancy, the capital of Lorraine. He was the second son of Duke Charles III and Claude de France, daughter of King 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 Sorbonne in Paris. 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, Cologne, Mainz and Strasbourg. He was also elected abbot of the abbeys of Gorze, Clairlieu, Saint-Mihiel, Saint-Vincent in Metz and Saint-Victor in Paris. As bishop of Metz, Charles instituted the Tridentine reforms with the help of the Society of Jesus. He presided over a diocesan synod in 1588, whereat the Minims and 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.