Prince Charles Ferdinand Vasa ( pl, Karol Ferdynand Waza; 13 October 1613 in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

– 9 May 1655 in

Wyszków Wyszków (; yi, ווישקאָוו ''Vishkov'') is a town in eastern Poland with 26,500 inhabitants (2018). It is the capital of Wyszków County in Masovian Voivodeship. History The village of Wyszków was first documented in 1203. It was grant ...

), was a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

prince, priest,

Bishop of Wrocław Bishops of the (Breslau )Wrocław Bishopric, Prince-Bishopric (1290–1918), and Archdiocese (since 1930; see Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wrocław for details). Bishops * 1000–? – John (Johannes) * 1051–1062 – Hieronymus * 1063–1072 ...

from 1625, bishop of

Płock Płock (pronounced ) is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by GUS on 31 December 2021, there were 116,962 inhabitants in the city. Its full ceremonial name, according to the ...

from 1640 and Duke of

Opole Opole (; german: Oppeln ; szl, Ôpole) ; * Silesian: ** Silesian PLS alphabet: ''Ôpole'' ** Steuer's Silesian alphabet: ''Uopole'' * Silesian German: ''Uppeln'' * Czech: ''Opolí'' * Latin: ''Oppelia'', ''Oppolia'', ''Opulia'' is a city loc ...

from 1648 to 1655.

Biography

Charles Ferdinand was the fourth son of King

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa ( pl, Zygmunt III Waza, lt, Žygimantas Vaza; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland from 1592 to ...

and his wife

Constance of Austria Constance of Austria (german: Konstanza; pl, Konstancja; 24 December 1588 – 10 July 1631) was Queen of Poland as the second wife of King Sigismund III Vasa and the mother of King John II Casimir. Biography Constance was a daughter of Charles ...

and the brother of John Casimir, John Albert, Alexander Charles and

Anna Catherine Constance Anna Catherine Constance Vasa ( pl, Anna Katarzyna Konstancja Waza; 7 August 1619 in Warsaw – 8 October 1651 in Cologne) was a Polish princess, daughter of Sigismund III Vasa, King of Sweden and Poland and his second wife Constance of Austria. ...

. Charles Ferdinand spent his childhood and youth in the care of his mother at the royal court in

. On 23 March 1624 he received dispensation from

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death in July 1644. As po ...

, allowing him to take the dignity of being a canon in

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

. In this case, cardinal-protector Cosmo de Torres intervened with the pope. On 3 May 1625, through the political efforts of

Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the son of Charles II, Archduke of Austria, Archd ...

, he was appointed the

. On 22 October 1625 he received papal approval for the post. On 18 January 1626, despite being a minor (12 years old) and not having a proper ordination ceremony he was officially installed as bishop. In 1629, he added the

Prudnik Prudnik (, szl, Prudnik, Prōmnik, german: Neustadt in Oberschlesien, Neustadt an der Prudnik, la, Prudnicium) is a town in southern Poland, located in the southern part of Opole Voivodeship near the border with the Czech Republic. It is the ...

district to the

Archdiocese of Wrocław In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

(before that, Prudnik was a part of the Olomouc Archdiocese). After the death of his mother in 1631, together with his brother John Casimir he inherited the wealthy city of

Żywiec Żywiec () (german: Saybusch) is a town in southern Poland with 31,194 inhabitants (2019). Between 1975 and 1998, it was located within the Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship, but has since become part of the Silesian Voivodeship.It is the capital of Ż ...

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a s ...

. During the reign of

Władysław IV Władysław is a Polish given male name, cognate with Vladislav. The feminine form is Władysława, archaic forms are Włodzisław (male) and Włodzisława (female), and Wladislaw is a variation. These names may refer to: Famous people Mononym * W ...

, Charles Ferdinand resided mainly in Warsaw. Being a close relative of the royal court, however, he was not interested in politics and had no ambition to acquire the secular authorities. Between 1632 and 1648 he devoted his time mostly to administrative work, financial affairs and accumulation of ecclesiastical benefice. In 1640 he was appointed the

Bishop of Płock A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. After his coming of age, Charles Ferdinand decided never to accept the ordination of priesthood and gave the control of the

to other influential bishops and priests that would be in charge like Bishop John von Balthasar Liesch Hornau and Archdeacon Peter Gebauer. Similarly, with the Archdiocese of Płock, he gave control over the sect to Stanisław Starczewski and Wojciech Tolibowski After the death of King

Władysław IV Vasa Władysław IV Vasa; lt, Vladislovas Vaza; sv, Vladislav IV av Polen; rus, Владислав IV Ваза, r=Vladislav IV Vaza; la, Ladislaus IV Vasa or Ladislaus IV of Poland (9 June 1595 – 20 May 1648) was King of Poland, Grand Duke of ...

in 1648, he was a candidate to the Polish throne, together with his brother John Casimir whom he supported. Later he has launched a tough policy and decisive steps to quell the civil war in Polish occupied

Ruthenia Ruthenia or , uk, Рутенія, translit=Rutenia or uk, Русь, translit=Rus, label=none, pl, Ruś, be, Рутэнія, Русь, russian: Рутения, Русь is an exonym, originally used in Medieval Latin as one of several terms ...

and Ukraine. He received the support of two-thirds majority of senators and bishops in the Polish

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...

(Parliament). Most notably he was supported by the Ruthenian nobles led by

Jeremi Wiśniowiecki Prince Jeremi Wiśniowiecki ( uk, Ярема Вишневецький – Yarema Vyshnevetsky; 1612 – 20 August 1651) nicknamed ''Hammer on the Cossacks'' ( pl, Młot na Kozaków), was a notable member of the aristocracy of the Polish–Lith ...

, however, his policies were opposed by the

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

Lutherans Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

and by the nobility of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...

, which feared the tightening of the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...

. At the forefront of opposition to Charles Ferdinand Vasa stood Janusz Radziwiłł and his brother

Bogusław Radziwiłł Bogusław Radziwiłł ( lt, Boguslavas Radvila; 3 May 1620 – 31 December 1669) was a Poles, Polish princely magnate and a member of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish-Lithuanian ''szlachta'', or nobility. He was of the Radziwił ...

, who even threatened to break the Polish-Lithuanian union. After losing the election, Charles Ferdinand received, from his brother and newly elected king, the Duchy of Opole and

Racibórz Racibórz (german: Ratibor, cz, Ratiboř, szl, Racibōrz) is a city in Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the administrative seat of Racibórz County. With Opole, Racibórz is one of the historic capitals of Upper Silesia, being t ...

. He then retired from public life. He settled on the estates of the bishops in

, in

Mazovia Mazovia or Masovia ( pl, Mazowsze) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the unofficial capital and largest city. Throughout the centurie ...

. His main residence was a large renaissance castle in Brok. In 1651, he took care of the orphaned and deprived of estates in

Michael Korybut Wiśniowiecki Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

(later King Michael I). Vasa financed his travels abroad and provided thorough education and studies in the best schools of Europe. Charles Ferdinand Vasa died on 9 May 1655 in

. He was buried in the Jesuit Church in Warsaw. Charles Ferdinand Vasa left a huge fortune and the majority of it was spent on various foundations of churches in the country. The rest was inherited by his brother

John II Casimir John II Casimir ( pl, Jan II Kazimierz Waza; lt, Jonas Kazimieras Vaza; 22 March 1609 – 16 December 1672) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1648 until his abdication in 1668 as well as titular King of Sweden from 1648 ...

. Money and estates inherited from the king's brother helped to finance the troops and the military during the Polish-Swedish War (known as the "Deluge"), and the

Duchy of Silesia The Duchy of Silesia ( pl, Księstwo śląskie, german: Herzogtum Schlesien, cs, Slezské knížectví) with its capital at Wrocław was a medieval duchy located in the historic Silesian region of Poland. Soon after it was formed under the Pia ...

provided the king with shelter when he had to flee Poland in 1655. Charles Ferdinand was a great patron of art and supporter of the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

(he had an enormous silver

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

built for the Jesuit Church in

Lileyko Jerzy, ''Życie codzienne w Warszawie za Wazów'', Warszawa, 1984. ). In the 1640s, royal architect,

Giovanni Battista Gisleni Giovanni Battista Gisleni (1600 – 3 May 1672) was an Italian Baroque architect, stage designer, theater director, singer, and musician at the Polish-Lithuanian royal court. Gisleni was born and died in Rome. He served three Polish kings of th ...

built for him a palace situated on the northern

bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...

of the Warsaw Royal Castle

fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

s. It was later ransacked and destroyed by Swedes and Germans of

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

in 1650s, during the

Deluge A deluge is a large downpour of rain, often a flood. The Deluge refers to the flood narrative in the Biblical book of Genesis. Deluge may also refer to: History *Deluge (history), the Swedish and Russian invasion of the Polish-Lithuanian Comm ...

. He also had a large wooden palace in Wyszków.

Gallery

File:Ferdynand Waza.jpg, Vasa in his youth File:Silesia Bishop Charles Ferdinand Vasa.jpg, ''Portrait of Bishop Charles Ferdinand Vasa'', painter unknown Image:Wyszkow-Obelisk Wazow.jpg, Monument dedicated to memory of Karol Ferdynand Waza in

, erected after his death in 1655. Image:Otmuchow1 (js).jpg, He rebuilt the Castle in

Otmuchów Otmuchów (pronounced: ; german: Ottmachau) is a town in Nysa County, Opole Voivodeship, Poland, with 6,581 inhabitants (2019). Etymology The city was mentioned for the first time as ''Otemochow'' in 1155. It was named in its Old Polish form ''Ot ...

, after devastation during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

.Otmuchów
Gotycki zamek biskupi rozbudowany w stylu renesansowym i barokowym. File:Chalice of Charles Ferdinand Vasa.jpg, Golden chalice commissioned by Charles Ferdinand File:Poland Seat upholstery.jpg, Bishop's banner

Ancestors

References

External links

*
Portrait of Charles Ferdinand Vasa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasa, Karol Ferdynand Polish Prince Royals Ecclesiastical senators of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1613 births 1655 deaths Candidates for the Polish elective throne Dukes of Opole

Karol Ferdynand Prince Charles Ferdinand Vasa ( pl, Karol Ferdynand Waza; 13 October 1613 in Warsaw – 9 May 1655 in Wyszków), was a Poles, Polish prince, priest, Bishop of Wrocław from 1625, bishop of Płock from 1640 and Duke of Opole from 1648 to 1655. Bi ...

Bishops of Płock Prince-bishops in the Holy Roman Empire Prince-Bishops of Breslau Abbots of Czerwińsk Abbots of Tyniec Abbots of Mogiła 17th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Sons of kings

Biography

Gallery

Ancestors

See also

References

External links