Ignacy became a
Catholic priest and was named
Bishop of Vilnius by
Pope Clement XIII on 29 March 1762. He was one of the initiators of the
Commission for National Education. During his time on the commission, Massalski set up 300 parish schools. In 1776 he was removed from the Commission for
embezzlement of public funds. He was succeeded as head of the commission by
Michał Jerzy Poniatowski. Massalski commissioned the reconstruction of the
Vilnius Cathedral by
Laurynas Gucevičius, which brought it to its present appearance. He became the owner of the
Verkiai Palace in 1780 and organized its major reconstruction in the
Neoclassical style, also by Gucevičius. Accused of treason, he was hanged in Warsaw on 28 June 1794 by an
angry mob in the aftermath of the
Warsaw Uprising. ==References==