and Ukraine. He received the support of two-thirds majority of senators and bishops in the Polish Sejm (Parliament). Most notably he was supported by the Ruthenian nobles led by Jeremi Wiśniowiecki, however, his policies were opposed by the Protestants, Lutherans and by the nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which feared the tightening of the Counter-Reformation. At the forefront of opposition to Charles Ferdinand Vasa stood Janusz Radziwiłł and his brother Bogusław Radziwiłł, 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. He then retired from public life. He settled on the estates of the bishops in Płock, in Mazovia. His main residence was a large renaissance castle in Brok. In 1651, he took care of the orphaned and deprived of estates in Ruthenia, 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 in Wyszków. 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. 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 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 (he had an enormous silver altar built for the Jesuit Church in Warsaw). In the 1640s, royal architect, Giovanni Battista Gisleni built for him a palace situated on the northern bastion of the Warsaw Royal Castle fortifications. It was later ransacked and destroyed by Swedes and Germans of Brandenburg in 1650s, during the Deluge. He also had a large wooden palace in Wyszków. Gallery Ancestors See also Płock Cathedral Nysa References External links Portrait of Charles Ferdinand Vasa 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 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