The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church

Biographical Dictionary
[Antipope] Clement VII (1378-1394)
Consistory of April 15, 1384 (IV)
Celebrated in Avignon


(1) 1. LUXEMBOURG, Pierre de (1369-1387)

Birth. July 20, 1369, Ligny-en-Barrois, Meuse, France. Second of the six children of Guy de Luxembourg, count of Ligny and Saint-Pol, and Mahaut de Châtillon. Uncle of Cardinal Louis de Luxembourg (1439). Grand-uncle of Quasi-Cardinal Thibaud de Luxembourg, O.Cist. (1474). Great-grand-uncle of Cardinal Philippe de Luxembourg (1495).

Education. Studied in Paris.

Early life. Canon of the cathedral chapter of Paris in 1379, when he was ten years old. Cleric of the diocese of Chartres; canon of its cathedral chapter in 1381. Archdeacon of Cambrai in 1382. Archdeacon of Dreux, Chartres.

Episcopate. Elected bishop of Metz, February 10, 1384; he was fifteen years old. At the instances of the king of France and the duke of Berry, he was promoted to the cardinalate by Antipope Clement VII.

Cardinalate. Created pseudocardinal deacon of S. Giorgio in Velabro in the consistory of April 15, 1384; he retained the administration of his see; he could never take possession nor receive its revenues. He entered Avignon on June 4, 1386. He worked ceaselessly for the end of the schism.

Death. July 2, 1387, of languor (caused by the austerity of his life), Villeneuve-lès-Avignon. Buried, at his request, in the common cemetery of paupers in that location; miracles started happening in his tomb shortly after his death; his brother Jean ordered on March 16, 1395, the construction of a church dedicated to Pope St. Celestine V, where the body of Pseudocardinal Pierre was to be deposited; a convent of Celestin monks was built next to the church; the remains of Antipope Clement VII were transferred from the cathedral of Avignon to this church in 1401.

Beatification. Beatified by Pope Clement VII on March 24 (or April 9), 1527; the beatification had been requested by Queen Maria of Naples on February 1, 1388; Philippe le Bon, duke of Bourgogne; the fathers of the Council of Basle; the emperor; the king of France; and other princes. In 1629, Pope Urban VIII granted to the Carthusians the celebration of a Mass and the recitation of the divine office in memory of the blessed and fixed his feast on July 5.

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, III, ; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm ab initio nascentis Ecclesiæ vsque ad Vrbanvm VIII. Pont. Max. 2 volumes. Romae : Typis Vaticanis, 1677, II, col. 684-686; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VI. Les cardinaux du Grand Schisme (1378-1417)". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1931. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1931, p. 151; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen I (1198-1431). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1913; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. 28, 50 and 338.

Webgraphy. His engraving and biography in Histoire de tous les cardinaux françois de naissance, ou qui ont esté promeus au cardinalat. [Volume 1] / by François Duchesne (1616-1693). Auteur du texte, in French, pp. 700-704, Gallica; his genealogy, A2 E2, euweb.cz; his portrait, Web Gallery of Art; same portrait, toward 1470, Ecole française, musée du Petit Palais, Avignon, France; his image, miniature of the 15th century, Ministère de la Culture; another miniature, ca.1510, Ministère de la Culture; his statue, 19th century, Tréveray, département de la Meuse, région Lorraine, France.

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