Jean de Lorraine was a French cardinal

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...

, who was archbishop of Reims

Archbishop of Reims

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Reims is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese around 250 by St. Sixtus, the diocese was elevated to an archdiocese around 750...

, Lyon and Narbonne

Narbonne

Narbonne is a commune in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Once a prosperous port, it is now located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea...

, bishop of Metz, Toul

Diocese of Toul

The Diocese of Toul was a Roman Catholic diocese seated at Toul in present-day France. It existed from 365 until 1824. From 1048 until 1552 , it was also a state of the Holy Roman Empire.- History :...

, Verdun, Thérouanne

Ancient Diocese of Thérouanne

The former French diocese of Thérouanne controlled a large part of the left bank of the river Scheldt during the Middle Ages. Territorially it was part of the county of Artois which belonged to the county of Flanders....

, Luçon

Luçon

Luçon is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France.It is the seat of the Diocese of Luçon and Luçon Cathedral.-References:*...

, Albi, Valence

Valence, Drôme

Valence is a commune in southeastern France, the capital of the Drôme department, situated on the left bank of the Rhône, south of Lyon on the railway to Marseilles.Its inhabitants are called Valentinois...

, Nantes and Agen

Agen

Agen is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in Aquitaine in south-western France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. It is the capital of the department.-Economy:The town has a higher level of unemployment than the national average...

. He is sometimes known as the cardinal de Lorraine.

Biography

Born in Bar-le-Duc

Bar-le-Duc

Bar-le-Duc, formerly known as Bar, is a commune in the Meuse département, of which it is the préfecture . The department is in Lorraine in north-eastern France-Geography:...

, John was the son of René II, Duke of Lorraine

René II, Duke of Lorraine

René II was Count of Vaudémont from 1470, Duke of Lorraine from 1473, and Duke of Bar from 1483 to 1508. He claimed the crown of the Kingdom of Naples and the County of Provence as the Duke of Calabria 1480–1493 and as King of Naples and Jerusalem 1493–1508...

 and younger brother of Antoine, Duke of Lorraine

Antoine, Duke of Lorraine

Antoine , known as the Good, was Duke of Lorraine from 1508 until his death in 1544.-Biography:Antoine was born at Bar-le-Duc, the son of René II, Duke of Lorraine and Philippa of Guelders...

 and Claude, Duke of Guise

Claude, Duke of Guise

Claude de Lorraine, duc de Guise was a French aristocrat and general. He became the first Duke of Guise in 1528....

.

He is considered a corrupt ruler who before he died squandered most of the wealth which he had derived from these and other benefices. Part of his ecclesiastical preferment he gave up in favour of his nephews. He became a member of the royal council in 1530, and in 1536 was entrusted with an embassy to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...

. Although a complaisant helper in Francis

Francis I of France

Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...

's pleasures, he was disgraced in 1542, and retired to Rome.

He was extremely dissolute, but as an open-handed patron of art and learning, as the protector and friend of Erasmus, Marot

Clément Marot

Clément Marot was a French poet of the Renaissance period.-Youth:Marot was born at Cahors, the capital of the province of Quercy, some time during the winter of 1496-1497. His father, Jean Marot , whose more correct name appears to have been des Mares, Marais or Marets, was a Norman from the Caen...

 and Rabelais

François Rabelais

François Rabelais was a major French Renaissance writer, doctor, Renaissance humanist, monk and Greek scholar. He has historically been regarded as a writer of fantasy, satire, the grotesque, bawdy jokes and songs...

 he did something to counter-balance the general unpopularity of his calculating brother, the duke of Guise.

He died in Neuvy-sur-Loire

Neuvy-sur-Loire

Neuvy-sur-Loire is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France.-Demographics:At the 1999 census, the population was 1356. On 1 January 2007, the estimate was 1423.-References:*...

in 1550.