Mikołaj Sapieha () (1581–1644) also known as ''Pobożny'' (''" Pious"'') was a Polish

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

and ''Great Standard-Keeper'' of Lithuania. He was also Voivode of Minsk, Voivode of Brześć Litewski and

Castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

Early life

Sapieha was born in 1581, the son of Mikołaj Sapieha. He was the brother of Krzysztof Sapieha. Together with his brother Krzysztof he studied throughout Europe; travelling (between 1608 and 1613) to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and

Matla In Persian, Turkic and Urdu poetry, the matla (from Arabic ; ; ; ; ; ) is the first '' bayt'', or couplet, of a ''ghazal''. In this sense, it is the opposite of the ''maqta. It is possible, although extremely rare, for there to be more than one ...

. In 1613 the brothers returned to

Kodeń Kodeń is a village in eastern Poland on the Bug River, which forms the border between Poland and Belarus. Administratively, it belongs to Biała Podlaska County in Lublin Voivodeship. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called ...

. Mikołaj began a

political Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

career, becoming a Deputy in the

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

(

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

) of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1621 and then a Member of the

Lithuanian Tribunal The Lithuanian Tribunal ( or ''Lietuvos Tribunolas''; ) was the highest appellate court for the Lithuanian nobility, nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It was established by the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of ...

in 1622. Between 1625 and 1631 he travelled again, visiting Italy. It was during that time – according to

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...

– that he was miraculously cured and stole a holy

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

from

. Sapieha took part in the funeral of King

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa (, ; 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 from 1592 to 1599. He was the first Polish sovereign from the House of Vasa. Re ...

in 1632, carrying the banner of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

as the Lithuanian Great Standard-Keeper (''Chorąży wielki litewski, vexillifer''), a post he held from 1625 until 1633. In 1634, he was elected the

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

of the Lithuanian Tribunal, welcomed the victorious Polish forces and the new king,

Władysław IV Waza 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: People Mononym *Włodzis� ...

, returning from the

Smolensk War The Smolensk War (1632–1634) was a conflict fought between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russia. Hostilities began in October 1632 when Russian forces tried to capture the city of Smolensk. Small military engagements produced mix ...

. He remained a Deputy of the Sejm in 1637 and 1638. In 1638 he became Voivode of Minsk (from July), before taking the post of Voivode of Brześć Litewski in November that year. In 1642 he became the

, a post he received for having supported the king against the Radziwiłł family.

Family

Sapieha married Jadwiga Anna Woyna who died in 1642 and then Elżbieta Prusinowska who died after 1648. He fathered two sons (Kazimierz Melchiades Sapieha and Jan Ferdynand Sapieha) and three daughters; Halszka Sapieha (died 1661 or 1662), Teresa Sapieha and Joanna Petronela Sapieha.

Legend

His nickname "Pious" originates from his sponsorship of a church in Kodeń and a related legend. The legend states that he fell ill and began a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

to Rome. After seeing a holy

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

the Madonna In Christian art, a Madonna () is a religious depiction of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a singular form or sometimes accompanied by the Child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word ...

in a private

Papal The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

, he was miraculously cured. Afterward he decided to steal the painting that he believed saved him, so that it could be enshrined in his new church in Kodeń. It is now known as ''Our Lady of Kodeń'', based on

Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe (), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (), is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with four Marian apparitions to Juan Diego and one to his uncle, Juan Bernardino reported in December 1531, when t ...

. For his crime, Sapieha was

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban 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 pope, he expanded the papal terri ...

. However, the excommunication was lifted in 1634 when Mikołaj agreed to represent papal interests and use his influence to oppose the marriage between King Władyslaw and the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Princess

Elisabeth of the Palatinate Elisabeth of the Palatinate (; 26 December 1618 – 11 February 1680), also known as Elisabeth of Bohemia (), Princess Elisabeth of the Palatinate, or Princess-Abbess of Herford Abbey, was the eldest daughter of Frederick V, Elector Palatine (w ...

. The icon he ''"stole"'' was also given to the people of Kodeń. No documents attesting to the theft exist and it is possible the icon was simply purchased by Sapieha during a trip to Spain.

Notes

Sources

Zofia Kossak-Szczucka Zofia Kossak-Szczucka ( (also Kossak-Szatkowska); 10 August 1889 – 9 April 1968) was a Polish writer and World War II resistance fighter. She co-founded two wartime Polish organizations: Front for the Rebirth of Poland and Żegota, set up to ...

, ''Błogosławiona Wina'', Warszawa 1953
Historia Sanktuarium i cudownego obrazu Matki Bożej Kodeńskiej
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sapieha, Mikolaj 1581 births 1644 deaths People excommunicated by the Catholic Church Mikolaj Secular senators of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Voivodes of Minsk