Willem van Bergen

Guillaume de Berghes or of Glymes(1551–1609), baron of Grimbergen, was bishop of Antwerp from 1597 to 1601 and archbishop of Cambrai from 1601 until his death. Life Family Berghes was the third son of Ferry de Berghes, Baron of Grimberghen and Anne de Stercke, lady of Stabroeck, Bucquoy, Wyneghem, etc., who had grown up in Sterckshof. All the descendants of the branch of Grimbergen are called de Berghes to distinguish them from the other branches in the family. He was an uncle of Guillaume de Bette and a great-uncle of Alphonse de Berghes. Career After studying Law and Theology at the universities of Louvain, Douai, Dole, Padua and Bologna, Berghes was appointed a canon of the church of St John the Evangelist, Liège. On 8 April 1578 the prince-bishop of Liège, Gerard of Grœsbeek, appointed him dean of the chapter of St John the Evangelist, after a contested election. Having gone to Rome to obtain papal confirmation, Berghes was appointed a domestic prelate by Pope Gregory XIII. On 5 January 1583 he was transferred to a canonry of Saint Lambert's Cathedral, Liège, and shortly afterwards was sent to Rome as the envoy of Ernest of Bavaria. He was later sent on diplomatic missions to Alexander Farnese, Governor General of the Spanish Netherlands.