He was nicknamed "the Orphan", in his infancy, by the Polish king and Lithuanian grand duke
Sigismund II Augustus (while his parents were still alive). He married Halaszka Eufemia Wiśniowiecka on 24 November 1584, a Calvinist, who under his influence, converted to Roman Catholicism. He took part in the
Livonian War against
Muscovite forces. In 1573, he was a member of a diplomatic mission to France to the future king of Poland and grand duke of Lithuania,
Henry III of France. Unlike many other members of
Radziwiłł family he tried to stay away from politics, especially from the dynastic clan politics of some of other Radziwiłłs like
Janusz Radziwiłł; he also supported the forces loyal to the king and
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth during the
Zebrzydowski Rebellion, a szlachta's
confederation threatening the king. and later translated into Polish. While in Rome, he met
Piotr Skarga and
Stanislaus Hosius, who convinced him to convert from
Calvinism to
Catholicism, as later did his other brothers, many upon his insistence. He was also known for his cultural and charity sponsorships. He was a founder of many
cloisters, hospitals and
churches. One of the
chapels in the Jesuit church in
Nesvizh, founded by Mikołaj Krzysztof, would become the family's
mausoleum for the Radziwiłłs, serving them for the next two hundred and a half centuries. In Nieśwież, which became his seat, he also built
a fortified castle. He was a patron of artists and scientists; for example he supported the works of cartographers such as
Tomasz Makowski. ==See also==