Background
Gerard van Groesbeeck was born in the château of Curingen, Hasselt in 1517.
Gerard van Groesbeeck was born in the château of Curingen, Hasselt in 1517.
He was related to the barons of Groesbeek, Guelders. As a young man, he became a canon of Aachen Cathedral. He was also a canon, and later the dean of the cathedral chapter of Saint Lambert"s Cathedral, Liège.
He became the coadjutor bishop of Robert of Berghes, Prince-Bishop of Liège in March 1562.
He became the administrator of the Prince-Bishopric on April 11, 1564. On June 5, 1564, he was elected Prince-Bishop of Liège.
His election was preconized by Pope Pius IV on February 23, 1565. He was consecrated as a bishop by Gregoire Silvius, titular bishop of Tagaste, in the Cistercian Abbey of Herckenrode on May 20, 1565.
As Prince-Bishop, he was not successful in implementing the decrees of the Council of Trent in the Prince-Bishopric.
In 1567, he crushed revolts in Hasselt, Maaseik, and Maastricht. In 1576, he became Prince-Abbot of Stavelot. He and the Estates of Liège declared the Prince-Bishopric a neutral state in 1577.
Pope Gregory XIII made him a cardinal priest in the consistory of February 21, 1578.
He never traveled to Rome to receive the red hat or a titular church. He died on December 23, 1580 and was buried in Saint Lambert"s Cathedral, Liège.
