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| Karol Ferdynand Vasa | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Wrocław Bishop of Płock Duke of Opole | |
 Portrait byDaniel Schultz | |
| Born | (1613-10-13)13 October 1613 Warsaw,Poland |
| Died | 9 May 1655(1655-05-09) (aged 41) Wyszków, Poland |
| Burial | |
| House | Vasa |
| Father | Sigismund III Vasa |
| Mother | Constance of Austria |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Prince Charles Ferdinand Vasa (Polish:Karol Ferdynand Waza; 13 October 1613 inWarsaw – 9 May 1655 inWyszków), was aPolish prince, priest,Bishop of Wrocław from 1625,bishop of Płock from 1640 andDuke of Opole from 1648 to 1655.
Charles Ferdinand was the fourth son of KingSigismund III Vasa and his wifeConstance of Austria and the brother ofJohn Casimir,John Albert,Alexander Charles andAnna Catherine Constance. Charles Ferdinand spent his childhood and youth in the care of his mother at the royal court inWarsaw. On 23 March 1624 he received dispensation fromPope Urban VIII, allowing him to take the dignity of being a canon inWrocław. In this case, cardinal-protector Cosmo de Torres intervened with the pope.
On 3 May 1625, through the political efforts ofFerdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, he was appointed theBishop of Wrocław. 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 thePrudnik district to theDiocese of Wrocław (before that, Prudnik was a part of theOlomouc Diocese). After the death of his mother in 1631, together with his brotherJohn Casimir he inherited the wealthy city ofŻywiec inLesser Poland. During the reign ofWładysław IV, 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 theBishop of Płock. After his coming of age, Charles Ferdinand decided never to accept the ordination of priesthood and gave the control of theArchdiocese of Wrocław 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 KingWładysław IV Vasa in 1648, he was a candidate to the Polish throne, together with his brotherJohn Casimir whom he supported. Later he has launched a tough policy and decisive steps to quell the civil war in Polish occupiedRuthenia and Ukraine. He received the support of two-thirds majority of senators and bishops in the PolishSejm (Parliament). Most notably he was supported by the Ruthenian nobles led byJeremi Wiśniowiecki, however, his policies were opposed by theProtestants,Lutherans and by the nobility of theGrand Duchy of Lithuania, which feared the tightening of theCounter-Reformation. At the forefront of opposition to Charles Ferdinand Vasa stoodJanusz Radziwiłł and his brotherBogusław Radziwiłł, who even threatened to break thePolish-Lithuanian union.
After losing the election, Charles Ferdinand received, from his brother and newly elected king, the Duchy of Opole andRacibórz. He then retired from public life. He settled on the estates of the bishops inPłock, inMazovia. His main residence was a large renaissance castle in Brok. In 1651, he took care of the orphaned and deprived of estates inRuthenia,Michael Korybut Wiśniowiecki (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 inWyszków. He was buried in theJesuit 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 brotherJohn II Casimir. Money and estates inherited from the king's brother helped to finance the troops and the military during thePolish-Swedish War (known as the "Deluge"), and theDuchy of Silesia provided the king with shelter when he had to flee Poland in 1655.
Charles Ferdinand was a great patron of art and supporter of theSociety of Jesus (he had an enormous silveraltar built for theJesuit Church inWarsaw[1]). In the 1640s, royal architect,Giovanni Battista Gisleni built for him a palace situated on the northernbastion of the WarsawRoyal Castlefortifications. It was later ransacked and destroyed by Swedes and Germans ofBrandenburg in 1650s, during theDeluge.[1] He also had a large wooden palace in Wyszków.
![Monument dedicated to memory of Karol Ferdynand Waza in Wyszków, erected after his death in 1655.[2]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWyszkow-Obelisk_Wazow.jpg)
![He rebuilt the Castle in Otmuchów, after devastation during the Thirty Years' War.[3]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aOtmuchow1_(js).jpg)
| Ancestors of Karol Ferdynand Vasa |
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Media related toCharles Ferdinand Vasa at Wikimedia CommonsKarol Ferdynand Vasa Born: 13 October 1613 in Warsaw Died: 9 May 1655 in Wyszków | ||
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| Preceded by Karl von Innerösterreich | Prince-Bishop of Wrocław 1625–1655 (He was represented by Administrator Johann Balthasar Liesch von Hornau, because Vasa did not reside in Breslau) | Succeeded by |
| Religious titles | ||
| Preceded by | Bishop of Płock 1640–1655 | Succeeded by Jan Gembicki |
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