Georg von Österreich

George of Austria was probably born in Ghent in 1504 and died in Liège on May 4, 1557. He was Archbishop of Valencia and later Prince-Bishop of Liège. As the illegitimate son of Emperor Maximilian I of the House of Habsburg, he belonged to Europe’s ruling dynasty, although his exact maternal lineage is not clearly documented. Possible mothers include Margareta von Edelsheim and Anna von Helfenstein, who were the emperor’s lovers at the time and had several children with him. His ecclesiastical career took a decisive turn on March 27, 1538, when he succeeded Érard de La Marck and was appointed Archbishop of Valencia by Pope Paul III. The appointment was made at the request of his nephew, Emperor Charles V, who belonged to the influential Italian Farnese family. George of Austria arrived in Valencia in 1539, initially still only a deacon. Shortly afterward, he was ordained a priest and consecrated bishop the following day. In Valencia, he devoted particular attention to the religious instruction of the Moriscos, the Muslim population that had converted to Christianity. He sought to advance their evangelization and recruited Dominican preachers to promote the Christian faith within his archdiocese. These efforts achieved only limited success. To facilitate the catechization of the so-called New Christians, he issued the “Instructions e ordinacions per als novament convertits del regne de Valencia.” Among other things, these regulations established rules for pastoral care. Parish priests were expected to reside in their communities and provide guidance through exemplary conduct. George grounded his pastoral work in the idea of fraternal charity, emphasizing not only instruction but also the personal example of the clergy. He spent most of his time in the archdiocese at Villar de Benaduf, known as Villar del Arzobispo since 1795. During his absences, ecclesiastical administration was carried out by his auxiliary bishop, Miquel Maiques. Maiques was an Augustinian friar, theologian, and jurist. He later became Archbishop of Sácer in the Kingdom of Sardinia, which at that time belonged to the dominion of the Crown of Aragon in the Mediterranean region. In 1543, George of Austria was summoned to the Netherlands by his niece, Mary of Hungary. A widowed queen, Mary governed the region as its regent. George traveled to the Principality of Liège, an independent state situated amid the Seventeen Provinces. There, Pope Paul III appointed him Prince-Bishop of Liège. The office combined ecclesiastical and secular authority, since the prince-bishop was both the spiritual leader and ruler of the principality. To take up his new position, George of Austria resigned the archbishopric of Valencia in 1544. His successor was Tomás de Villanueva. From Liège, George became more deeply involved in the political and military conflicts surrounding his Habsburg family. During the Italian War of 1551–1559, he supported his nephew Charles I, the Habsburg ruler who was involved in the conflict against France. This support had immediate consequences for the Principality of Liège: French troops invaded the territory and captured Buillon in 1552 and Couvin in 1554. Both towns were returned to the principality in 1559 under the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis. By then, however, Robert de Berghes was already Prince-Bishop of Liège. George of Austria had died in Liège two years earlier. His life thus led him from the Habsburg court sphere, through reform-minded ecclesiastical work in Valencia, to political responsibility for an independent principality drawn directly into the conflicts among Europe’s major powers.