Charles-Nicolas D'Oultremont

Charles-Nicolas-Alexandre d'Oultremont (26 June 1716 – 22 October 1771) was

Prince-Bishop of Liège A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to '' Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the B ...

from 20 April 1763 to his death in 1771. He was the eighth child of Jean-François-Paul-Emile, Count of Oultremont and of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, and Marie-Isabelle of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, Countess of Warfusée and Druynen and Baroness of

Schagen Schagen () is a city and municipality in the northwestern Netherlands. It is located between Alkmaar and Den Helder, in the region of West Friesland (region), West Friesland and the province of North Holland. It received City rights in the Nethe ...

. He was born, lived and died in the castle of Warfusée (now within the municipality of

Saint-Georges-sur-Meuse Saint-Georges-sur-Meuse (, literally ''Saint-Georges on Meuse''; ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2006, Saint-Georges-sur-Meuse had a total popul ...

). Charles of Oultremont studied at the college of

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

and at Louis-le-Grand in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He was nominated

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

of the

Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

by the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

in 1733. He was ordained

Deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

on 22 April 1764, and

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

two days later. Upon the death of Prince-Bishop Jean-Théodore of Bavaria in January 1763, Prince Clemens of Saxony, ninth child of the King of Poland, Frederick Augustus III, applied to become the next prince-bishop. His young age (only 24), however, disqualified him. In addition, he was not yet a

and did not belong to the

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of the cathedral. He wrote to Pope

Clement XIII Pope Clement XIII (; ; 7 March 1693 – 2 February 1769), born Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 July 1758 to his death in February 1769. He was installed on 16 July 1758. ...

, who grant him eligibility. Clemens received the support from France and Austria, but not from canon priests of Liège, who preferred a local, namely Count Charles of Oultremont. The latter was elected on 20 April 1763, with 30 votes to 19. Prince Clemens protested and appealed to the Pope and the Emperor. Emperor Francis I intervened in favour of his ''protégé'', but the Pope confirmed the election, and Charles took his office as prince-bishop on 8 April 1764. He was consecrated at the Cathedral of Saint Lambert of Liège on 30 May. The new prince vowed to protect the authority and independence of the territory against the government of the

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, the Abbot of

Sint-Truiden Sint-Truiden (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium. With more than 41,500 inhabitants, it is on ...

and the Abbess-Princess of

Munsterbilzen Bilzen () is a former municipality and city located in the Belgian province of Limburg. In 2021, Bilzen had a total population of 32,536. The total area is 75.90 km2 which gives a population density of 426 inhabitants per km2. Bilzen consi ...

. The reign of Charles of Oultremont was marked more by his ecclesiastical achievements than his political ones. He fought against

Jansenism Jansenism was a 17th- and 18th-century Christian theology, theological movement within Roman Catholicism, primarily active in Kingdom of France, France, which arose as an attempt to reconcile the theological concepts of Free will in theology, f ...

, against

Febronianism Febronianism was a powerful movement within the Catholic Church in Germany, in the latter part of the 18th century, directed towards nationalising Catholicism, restricting the power of the papacy in favour of the episcopate, and reunion of dissid ...

, and against immoral writings which came flooding from France. He created new charitable institutions and enhanced the level of theological studies. Politically, he was frequently in dispute with the

Austrian Netherlands The Austrian Netherlands was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The period began with the acquisition by the Austrian Habsburg monarchy of the former Spanish Netherlands under the Treaty of Ras ...

, who had supported Prince Clemens. He executed numerous works to improve trade, industry and agriculture, and ordered the paving of roads towards France, other German states and the United Provinces. Charles of Oultremont also encountered problems with the

Teutonic Order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...

, who claimed to be exempt of taxation in virtue of their privileges. Influenced by his brother, he also raised the

quarters of nobility The power arrangements in the continental Europe prior to the 20th century gave preference to nobility. Some civil, ecclesiastical, and military positions had required the holder to be sufficiently noble, with quarters of nobility being a numerica ...

from eight to sixteen to be admitted into the council of the nobility. This effectively reduced the total number of noble families to around 15. {{DEFAULTSORT:Oultremont, Charles-Nicolas d Roman Catholic priests from the Austrian Netherlands 18th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Holy Roman Empire 1716 births 1771 deaths Prince-bishops of Liège Nobility of the Austrian Netherlands