Charles-Nicolas d'Oultremont

Charles-Nicolas-Alexandre d'Oultremont (26 June 1716 – 22 October 1771) was Prince-Bishop of Liège 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 was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

, and Marie-Isabelle of

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, 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 and the province of North Holland. It received city rights in 1415. In 2013, Schagen merged wit ...

. 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''; wa, Sint-Djôr-so-Mouze) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2006, Saint-Georges-sur-Meuse had a total population of 6,613. The ...

). Charles of Oultremont studied at the college of Reims and at Louis-le-Grand in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. He was nominated

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

of the

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

of Liège by the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

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 churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

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 deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

two days later. Upon the death of Prince-Bishop Jean-Théodore of Bavaria in January 1763, Prince Clemens of Saxony, only son 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 chapter of the cathedral. He wrote to Pope

Clement XIII Pope Clement XIII ( la, Clemens XIII; it, Clemente 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. ...

, 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

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, the Abbot of

Sint-Truiden Sint-Truiden (; french: link=no, Saint-Trond ; li, Sintruin ) is a city and municipality located in the province of Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium, and has over 41,500 inhabitants, which makes it one of the largest cities in Limburg. The muni ...

and the Abbess-Princess of

Munsterbilzen Bilzen () is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg. In 2021, Bilzen had a total population of 32,536. The total area is 75.90 km� ...

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

Jansenism Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by t ...

, against

Febronianism Febronianism was a powerful movement within the Roman Catholic Church in Germany, in the latter part of the 18th century, directed towards the nationalizing of Catholicism, the restriction of the power of the papacy in favor of that of the episcopa ...

, 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 nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The p ...

, 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 Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

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

quarters of nobility Quarters of nobility is an expression used in the bestowal of hereditary titles and refers to the number of generations in typically an ahnentafel in which noble status has been held by a family regardless of whether a title was actually in use by ...

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 of 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