Henryk Firlej

Henryk Firlej of Dąbrowica, of the Lewart coat of arms (born in 1574 in Balice, died on February 25, 1626, in Skierniewice) – Archbishop of Gniezno and Primate of Poland from 1624 to 1626, Deputy Chancellor of the Crown from 1613 to 1618, Grand Referendary of the Crown in 1605, provost of the Płock Cathedral Chapter from 1607 to 1617, and Bishop of Płock from 1617 to 1624, commendatory provost of the Miechów monastery in 1612, Kraków scholastic in 1594, Royal Secretary in 1596, and Sandomierz canon until 1614.

Biography Son of Grand Marshal of the Crown Jan Firlej and Barbara Mniszech of her own coat of arms. Baptized in his youth as a Calvinist. After his father’s death, his mother and brothers raised him as a Catholic. Half-brother of Grand Treasurer of the Crown Jan Firlej, Mikołaj, Piotr, and Andrzej.

He initially studied in Ingolstadt and Graz under the Jesuits, later in Padua and Rome. In Rome, he joined the household of Pope Clement VIII, becoming his chamberlain, domestic prelate, referendary of both signatures, apostolic protonotary, and Roman count. In 1595, he was ordained a subdeacon in Rome. In 1596, he returned to Poland with the papal nuncio and, on the pope’s recommendation, joined the Crown Chancery. In 1598, he was ordained a priest. On October 7, 1606, he signed the Janowiec Agreement.

Between 1617 and 1624, on his initiative, the early Baroque Bishops of Płock Palace in Brok nad Bugiem was built. In 1625, he began the Baroque reconstruction of the Łowicz Collegiate Church. He also built a church in Ciernice and one of the chapels at the Dominican Church in Lublin.