Wolbodo probably descended from a Flemish noble family related to that of the Counts of Flanders.
[1] He was appointed to the see of Liège after the death of Baldrick II (29 July 1018), and negotiated the release of Godfrey II, Duke of Lower Lorraine, who had been captured by Dirk III, Count of Holland, at the Battle of Vlaardingen.
In November 1018 he was consecrated bishop in Liège by Heribert of Cologne, assisted by Gerard of Cambrai, in the presence of Emperor Henry II.
[1] He named Olbert of Gambloux as head of the Abbey of St James in Liège, and in 1020 deposed Ingobrand as abbot of Lobbes Abbey, replacing him with Richard of Saint-Vanne.
In Delft the student society Menschen Vereeniging Wolbodo is named after him.