John Albert Vasa
Categories: 1612 births | 1634 deaths | Cardinals | Polish bishops | Polish nobility | Vasa
John Albert Vasa (Jan Albert Waza) (June 25, 1612 – December 29, 1634), bishop of Warmia and Kraków, cardinal. He was the son of King Sigismund III of Poland and Austrian archduchess Constance of Austria Habsburg.
John Albert was born in Warsaw, Poland. When he was 9 years old, after the death of Szymon Rudnicki his father chose him to be the next Bishop of Warmia. The pope has agreed to that request on the 21 October of 1621. More difficult to reach was an agreement from the Warmian chapter, and the objections of szlachta delayed the final approval of this nomination in Sejm until 1631. The prince have never visited his diocese, they were governed in his name by the suffragan bishop Michal Dzialynski, archdeacon of Warsaw Jakub Wierzbipieta Borzuchowski and canon of Warmia, Pawel Piasecki. The cathedral at Frombork was enriched by the gifts from Jan Albert that included lithurgical robes and golden statue of Saint Andrew.
Enducated in the Society of Jesus.
On the 20th October of 1632 Jan Albert Waza received the office of Prince Bishop of Cracow (after the death of Andrzej Lipski); he performed his duties in person from 27 February of 1633.
On the 20th December of 1632 his cardinal nomination was declared in public; pope Urban VIII has signed the nomination on 19th October of 1629 but in secret in pectore tacite, and after revealing the information he granted Jan Albert the presbiterian title of Sanctae Marie in Aquiro.
Jan Albert died in Italy on 29 December 1634 in Padua, where he was likely sent by his brother, king Wladislaw IV Waza with a diplomatic mission. Causes of death are uncertain - Albrycht S. Radziwill in his diary suggested that he was infected with smallpox when he met his brother, Aleksander Karol during their meeting before he left for Italy (Karol died this same year from smallpox). Pawel Piasecki suggests that the cause of his death could be some illness other then smallpox.
The office of Bishop of Warmia was succeeded by Mikolaj Szyszkowski in 1632. The office of Bishop of Kraków was succeeded by Jakub Zadzik.
| Preceded by: {{{before}}}}|before=Andrzej Lipski}} | {{{title}}} {{{years}}}}|title=Bishop of Kraków|years=1632–1633}} | Succeeded by: {{{after}}} |