The
German Catholic League was initially a loose confederation of
Roman Catholic German states formed on July 10, 1609 to counteract the
Protestant Union (formed 1608), whereby the participating states concluded an alliance "for the defence of the Catholic religion and peace within the Empire." Modelled loosely on the more intransigent ultra-Catholic
French Catholic League (1576), the German Catholic league initially acted politically to negotiate issues with the slightly older Protestant Union.