Pierre de Luxembourg
Encyclopedia
Pierre de Luxembourg (1369–1387) was a Catholic ecclesiastic. He was beatified
Beatification
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...

 in 1527.

Pierre was born July 20, 1369, in Ligny-en-Barrois
Ligny-en-Barrois
Ligny-en-Barrois is a commune in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.The town is in the arrondissement of Bar-le-Duc, beside the canal that links the Rivers Rhine and Marne, fifteen kilometres to the south east of Bar le Duc: it is the administrative seat of the canton ...

, Meuse
Meuse
Meuse is a department in northeast France, named after the River Meuse.-History:Meuse is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. He was the second of the six children of Guy of Luxembourg, Count of Ligny, and Saint-Pol, and Mahaut de Châtillon.

Both of Pierre's parents died while he was still young. He was raised by his aunt, Jeanne, countess of Orgières. In 1377 he was sent to study at the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...

. His family decided that he would have an ecclesiastical career. At the age of ten, he was named a canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....

 of the cathedral chapter of Notre Dame de Paris
Notre Dame de Paris
Notre Dame de Paris , also known as Notre Dame Cathedral, is a Gothic, Roman Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. It is the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Paris: that is, it is the church that contains the cathedra of...

. In 1381 he was named a canon of the cathedral chapter of Notre Dame de Chartres. The following year he was named Archdeacon
Archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, Chaldean Catholic, and some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church...

 of Cambrai. Then he was named Archdeacon of Dreux
Dreux
Dreux is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France.-History:Dreux was known in ancient times as Durocassium, the capital of the Durocasses Celtic tribe. Despite the legend, its name was not related with Druids. The Romans established here a fortified camp known as Castrum...

 in the diocese of Chartres
Roman Catholic Diocese of Chartres
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Chartres is a Roman Catholic Latin Rite diocese in France.The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Tours.-Pilgrimages:...

.

In 1384 the episcopal see of Metz was vacant. The selection of a new bishop was complicated by the Western Schism
Western Schism
The Western Schism or Papal Schism was a split within the Catholic Church from 1378 to 1417. Two men simultaneously claimed to be the true pope. Driven by politics rather than any theological disagreement, the schism was ended by the Council of Constance . The simultaneous claims to the papal chair...

 in which France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 supported Antipope Clement VII
Antipope Clement VII
Robert of Geneva was elected to the papacy as Pope Clement VII by the French cardinals who opposed Urban VI, and was the first Avignon antipope of the Western Schism.-Biography:...

 while the Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...

 supported Pope Urban VI
Pope Urban VI
Pope Urban VI , born Bartolomeo Prignano, was Pope from 1378 to 1389.-Biography:Born in Itri, he was a devout monk and learned casuist, trained at Avignon. On March 21, 1364, he was consecrated Archbishop of Acerenza in the Kingdom of Naples...

. Antipope Clement VII named Pierre as the new bishop of Metz on February 10, 1384; he was only fifteen years old. He was never able to take possession of his see or even receive the revenues from it. About the same time Pope Urban VI named Tilman Vuss de Bettenburg as bishop of Metz.

At the request of King Charles VI of France
Charles VI of France
Charles VI , called the Beloved and the Mad , was the King of France from 1380 to 1422, as a member of the House of Valois. His bouts with madness, which seem to have begun in 1392, led to quarrels among the French royal family, which were exploited by the neighbouring powers of England and Burgundy...

 and John, Duke of Berry
John, Duke of Berry
John of Valois or John the Magnificent was Duke of Berry and Auvergne and Count of Poitiers and Montpensier. He was the third son of King John II of France and Bonne of Luxemburg; his brothers were King Charles V of France, Duke Louis I of Anjou and Duke Philip the Bold of Burgundy...

, Pierre was named a cardinal deacon
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...

 by Antipope Clement VII on April 15, 1384. He received the diaconal title of San Giorgio in Velabro.

In spite of his youth, Pierre was known for his holy and austere lifestyle.

Pierre died July 2, 1387, at Villeneuve-lès-Avignon
Villeneuve-lès-Avignon
Villeneuve-lès-Avignon is a commune in the Gard department in southern France. It can also be spelled Villeneuve-lez-Avignon.-Population:-Sights:* Chartreuse Notre-Dame-du-val-de-Bénédiction* Fort Saint-André* Tour Philippe Le Bel...

; he was only eighteen. According to his own wishes he was buried in the common cemetery of paupers. When miracles began to be reported at his tomb, his brother Jean ordered the construction of a church dedicated to Pope Saint Celestine V
Pope Celestine V
Pope Saint Celestine V, born Pietro Angelerio , also known as Pietro da Morrone was elected pope in the year 1294, by the papal election of 1292–1294, the last non-conclave in the history of the Roman Catholic Church...

 to which his remains were transferred.

The topic of Pierre's canonization was raised at the Council of Basel (1431–1449), but without any conclusion. In 1527 he was beatified by Pope Clement VII
Pope Clement VII
Clement VII , born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, was a cardinal from 1513 to 1523 and was Pope from 1523 to 1534.-Early life:...

. In 1629 Pope Urban VIII
Pope Urban VIII
Pope Urban VIII , born Maffeo Barberini, was pope from 1623 to 1644. He was the last pope to expand the papal territory by force of arms, and was a prominent patron of the arts and reformer of Church missions...

set his feast day as July 5.

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