Birth. May 31, 1472, Sedan. Third son of Robert von der Mark, herrn of Arenberg and Sedan and duke of Bouillon, and Jeanne de Marley, herrin of Saulcy. He was also known as Cardinal de Bouillon. His last name is also listed as Marck.

Education. Entered the University of Cologne in September 1485; obtained a licentiate.

Early life. Canon of the cathedral chapter of Liège, 1483. Canon of the cathedral chapter of Trier, 1484. Went to Rome and in 1497 was named protonotary apostolic. Canon of the cathedral chapter of Tours. Prior commendatario of the Benedictine convent of Saint-Marcel in Chalon sur Saône. Rector of the parish church of Lenduyc in the archdiocese of Reims. Prior of Notre Dame in Cunault in the diocese of Angers. Sent by King Louis XII as French ambassador to Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I in 1505. Accompanied that French king in his expedition against Genoa.

Episcopate. Elected bishop of Liège, February 25, 1506; occupied the see until his death.

Sacred orders. Ordained a deacon and a priest, May 13, 1506. Consecrated, May 17, 1506, cloister of the Regular Canons of Tongern, by Libert von Broechem, titular bishop of Beirut, assisted by François Chaillet, titular bishop of Calcedonia, and by Jean Bourgeois, titular bishop of Cirene; after the consecration, he retired for a while to the Carthusian monastery of Mount-Dieu, Reims. Named bishop of Chartres, November 5, 1507; had been elected unanimously by its cathedral chapter; resigned the government of the see, March 29, 1525. He switched his alliance from France to that of the Hapsburgs; Emperor Maximilian I granted him on April 22, 1509, the investiture as a prince of the realm. The contract of Saint-Truiden of 1518, which made Liège a Hapsburg protectorate, encountered strong opposition in the Netherlands; only after the emperor granted the diocese extensive privileges, among other things the transfer of the Court of Appeal of Speyer to Liège, did the citizens gave up their resistance. Ambassador of Charles, archduke of Austria, to Frankfurt for the imperial election; he was instrumental in the election of the archduke as Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1519; later, he was named imperial counselor. Administrator of the see of Valencia, retaining the see of Liège ad vitæ tempum, and the see of Chartres for six months, March 19, 1520; never visited the diocese, governing it through auxiliary bishops; during his administration occurred the War of the Germanías, 1520-1522; occupied the post until his death. He was promoted to the cardinalate at the request of Emperor Charles V. His episcopate gave the diocese a period of thirty years of peace.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of August 9, 1520; received the red hat and the title of S. Crisogono, January 5, 1521. He urged the University of Lyon to condemn Luther's theses and in 1521 he was the first bishop of the realm to execute the bull Ex surge domino, which excommunicated Luther; his action was decidedly supported by Nuncio Girolamo Aleander, who was striving to provide validity to the papal decision. Shortly after his promotion to the cardinalate, his brother Robert, prince of Sedan, placed himself under the protection of France and declared war against the emperor; the cardinal remained loyal to the emperor and defended his principality against his brother. Did not participate in the conclaves of 1521-1522 and 1523. In 1525, Pope Clement VII intended to name the cardinal general inquisitor of the Netherlands; the project failed because of the opposition of the court of Brussels. In 1526, he issued sharp regulations for the elevation of the discipline in the clergy and against the printing and sale of Protestant writings. He was present at the signing of the Peace of Cambray between Emperor Charles V and King François of France in 1529. In the Diet of Augsburg of 1530, he was a strong representative of the Catholic point of view. Did not participate in the conclave of 1534. In 1537, he hosted for six months with great honor in Liège Cardinal Reginald Pole, legate to England, who was closely followed by assassins under the orders of King Henry VIII of England. Legate a latere in the Low Countries. October or November 1537; charged with the reformation of the ecclesiastical life; he actively and decidedly opposed the spread of the heresy in his territories. Contributed 20,000 scudi to the war against the Turks. Built a magnificent episcopal palace in Liège and restored its cathedral. Published severe laws against criminals and vagabonds in his principality. He fell ill on January 15, 1538, after dining on oysters, and contracted a febrem lethalem; received the sacraments with great devotion and died.

Death. February 27, 1538, between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m., in Liège. Buried in the tomb that he had built in the center of the choir of the cathedral of Liège (1). His heart was deposited in the church of Kreuzherren in Huyand; and his entrails in the abbey of Sept Fontaines in Brussels. The magnificent mausoleum, which he had built in 1527, was destroyed during the French Revolution. Since 1811, his remains rest in the cathedral of Sain-Paul, a church in Liège raised to that rank in 1802.