Paweł Holszański (; – 4 September 1555,

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 ...

) was a notable Catholic church official Dmitry Tolstoy: ''Le catholicisme romain en Russie''
pp.464-465
/ref> and one of the last male scions of the once-mighty Lithuanian Alšėniškiai princely family 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, ...

Biography

Born to Prince Aleksander Holszański, the

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 ...

, and Zofia Sudymuntowiczówna, Rita Regina Trimoniene:
Polityka jagiellońska a kształtowanie się litewskiego narodu politycznego w końcu XV – I połowie XVI wieku
' daughter of

Alekna Sudimantaitis Alekna Sudimantaitis (, ; died in 1490/1491) was an influential Lithuanian noble of Trąby coat of arms, Grand Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1478–1490) and Voivode of Vilnius (1477–1490). Alekna is mentioned in written sources i ...

. The Alšėniškiai family was a Lithuanian princely family that embraced Orthodoxy and became Ruthenized back in the 14th century. Only Paweł's father Aleksander embraced Catholicism, probably influenced by

Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...

. Paweł Holszański studied in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, his studies were interrupted by his appointment to the Lutsk bishopric. While studying in Kraków, he probably met Mikołaj Hussowczyk, of whom he later became a patron. Already a nominated bishop, he continued his studies in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

in 1512. In 1513, he participated in the third, fourth and fifth sessions of the Fifth Lateran Council. He also witnessed the election of

Leo X Pope Leo X (; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political and banking Me ...

. On April 24, 1513, he was consecrated bishop in the

Sistine Chapel The Sistine Chapel ( ; ; ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the pope's official residence in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), it takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who had it built between 1473 and ...

. The pope presented him with gifts for King Sigismund the Old – a spade and a pearl-studded hat. On June 18, 1513 he was in Kraków, while on July 13 he presented papal gifts to the king in Miedniki. He then went to

Lutsk Lutsk (, ; see #Names and etymology, below for other names) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Volyn Oblast and the administrative center of Lutsk Raion within the oblast. Lutsk has a populati ...

to administer the diocese. He served as

bishop of Lutsk The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lutsk was first established in the 13th century as the diocese of Luceoria (Latin) or Łuck (Polish). After the victory of Napoleon, the diocese was joined with the Diocese of Zhytomyr, forming the diocese of Lutzk- ...

between 1507 and 1536. He convened the first two diocesan synods in 1515 and 1519. His close associate was Franciszek of Lwów, later elevated to the Kyiv bishopric. On 15 March 1536 he became

bishop of Vilnius Bishops of Vilnius diocese from 1388 and archdiocese (archdiocese of Vilnius) from 1925:" ...

. During his term as bishop, Holszański created several dozen new parishes in the Polish-Lithuanian borderlands. He convened diocesan synods in 1558, 1542, 1546 and 1555, mainly to combat the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

. He was also responsible for convincing the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania

Sigismund II Augustus Sigismund II Augustus (, ; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and t ...

to expel Marceli Kosman: ''Protestanci i kontrreformacja: z dziejów tolerancji w Rzeczypospolitej XVI-XVIII wieku''
p.51
/ref> Stanislovas Rapalionis and Abraomas Kulvietis, two pioneers of

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

in Lithuania.A.Bumblauskas. Senosios Lietuvos istorija. 2005 p. 236-237 He died in Vilnius on September 4, 1555. After his death, the administrator of the diocese was Canon .

Estate

Holszański, as one of the last descendants of two powerful families, had considerable wealth. As a clergyman, he had no offspring, so his property passed mostly to the families of his sisters or to the monarch. In 1518, from his mother Sophia of Chożów, he received the royal lease of the castle in Punia, and the house in

that Holszański sold in 1528 to . After his mother's death (shortly after 1518), Holszański inherited the family's main estates: Halshany, , , Dunilavichy and Voŭpa. These estates were transferred to the royal family after Holszański's death. After the death of his sister Barbara, a nun, he handed over the Vishnyev estate belonging to her to his sister Aleksandra's husband .

Biography

Estate

References

Further reading