Nicholas Francis was the youngest son of Duke
Francis II of Lorraine and his wife,
Christina of Salm. Born on the feast of
Saint Nicholas, he was named in his honour. As it appeared unlikely that he would succeed to the duchy, he was destined for the church. He was made coadjutor
bishop of Toul, in spite of his youth, in 1619 and succeeded to the see in 1624, but never actually received any sacred orders. He studied philosophy and theology at the University of
Pont-à-Mousson, 1622–1629. He returned to
Nancy in June 1629. The thesis he prepared on the sacrament of penance was printed in Holland in 1627 with a dedication to
Pope Urban VIII. After his promotion to the cardinalate, he received private lessons from two Jesuit priests. Nicholas Francis was named abbot
in commendam – a lucrative
sinecure – of several abbeys and was sent on several embassies by his brother,
Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine, and by King
Louis XIII of France. On 19 January 1626 he was created cardinal
in pectore (secretly). The appointment was not proclaimed publicly until 30 August 1627. He never received the cardinal's
red hat nor was he assigned a cardinal-deaconry. When in 1634 his brother Charles was pressured into resigning in his favor, he became sovereign Duke of Lorraine. He wrote to
Pope Urban VIII, 4 March 1634, resigning as cardinal to marry his cousin
Claude-Françoise of Lorraine, the second daughter of
Henry II, on 17–18 February. On 8 March 1634, the pope declared him
in nullo e sacris ordinis constitutum, depriving him of the title of cardinal and the diocese of Toul. In the
consistory of 22 March 1634, the pope communicated this to the College of Cardinals. Immediately following Nicholas's accession to the dukedom, the French invaded the duchy and forced the new duke to sign a treaty recognizing their right to occupy it. In April 1634, Nicholas himself fled into exile, and soon after abdicated himself, returning the claim to the duchy to his older brother,
Charles. With one brief exception, Charles would not, however, be able to return to his duchy until 1661. ==Marriage and issue==