Michał Kazimierz Pac

Who was Michał Kazimierz Pac?

Michał Kazimierz Pac was a magnate of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and a member of the Pac family. He was a son of Stefan Pac and a brother of Krzysztof Zygmunt Pac, the Chancellor of Lithuania.

Michał Kazimierz Pac joined the army as a young man and steadily rose through its ranks. In 1663, during the Second Northern War, when the territory of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was occupied by Russian and Swedish soldiers, Pac was appointed as the Field Hetman of Lithuania and voivode of Smolensk. He was further promoted to Great Hetman in 1667 and voivode of Vilna in 1669. Pac opposed election of Michael Korybut Wiśniowiecki to the throne of the Commonwealth. In 1673, Pac fought in the Battle of Khotyn against the Turks. After death of Wiśniowiecki, he opposed election of John III Sobieski. When it was discovered that Pac plotted with Austria and Brandenburg against Sobieski, he fell from public favor.

Michał Kazimierz Pac funded the construction of St. Peter and St. Paul Church in Vilna, considered to be one of the best examples of Baroque architecture in Lithuania.