Catherine of Lorraine | |
---|---|
Abbess of Remiremont | |
Born |
Ducal Palace of Nancy, France |
3 November 1573
Died | 7 March 1648 Paris, France |
(aged 74)
House | House of Lorraine |
Father | Charles III, Duke of Lorraine |
Mother | Claude of France |
Catherine of Lorraine (3 November 1573 – 7 March 1648) was the Abbess of Remiremont.
Catherine was the seventh child and fourth daughter of Charles III, Duke of Lorraine, and his wife Claude, daughter of Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici. Her mother died in childbirth in 1575 when Catherine was a year and a half. She was born at the Ducal Palace of Lorraine in Nancy, capital of the Duchy of Lorraine.
Catherine was devoted to religion and even went as far to ignore an alliance with the future Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand II.
In 1602 Catherine became the Coadjutrice of the Abbey. In 1612 she became the Abbess of the prestigious Remiremont Abbey, a Benedictine abbey near Remiremont, Vosges, France. The previous abbess, Elizabeth of Salm, had resigned specifically for Catherine to take the post
Remiremont was one of the most important, illustrious and aristocratic Abbey in France and was closely associated with the House of Lorraine. She later became the coadjutor to her niece, Margaret. Margaret had lost her mother in 1627 and went to live with Catherine at Remiremont. The young Marguerite was later the Duchess of Orléans as wife Gaston, scandalous brother of Louis XIII. Margaret, as a result of marrying Gaston without royal permission, was sent into exile with her husband in Brussels.