GUGLIELMO V the Pious, duke of BAVIERA. - B. 29 Sept. 1548, to Alberto V of Wittelsbach and Anna d'Austria; d. at Schleissheim, 7 Feb. 1626.
He succeeded Alberto V in 1579. His energetic action in defense of Catholicism, continuing that of his father and grandfather Guglielmo IV, effectively contributed to stemming Lutheran expansion in western Germany. The example of an intense religious life offered by G. and his wife, Renata di Lorena, fostered Catholic restoration, making Monaco the “Rome of Germany.” He favored the spread of the Jesuits, founding churches, convents, and colleges for them, among them the famous Collegio di S. Michele in Monaco (1597), and the convents of Ingolstadt, Altötting, and Ratisbona. In 1583 he concluded a concordat with the Holy See, which, however, was made public only in 1592. In 1597 he abdicated in favor of his son Massimiliano, whom he had already associated with himself in the government of Bavaria from 1595, in order to devote himself more fully to a life of spiritual perfection.