FERDINANDO of BAVARIA. — Archbishop and prince-elector of Saxony, b. in Munich on 7 October 1577, d. in Arnsberg on 13 September 1650. He completed his studies in Ingolstadt and Rome. In 1594 he was appointed provost at Berchtesgaden, then (1595) coadjutor to the bishop of Cologne, his uncle, whom he succeeded in 1612. In 1618 he assumed the bishopric of Paderborn.
He never wished to receive Major Orders. A man of profound piety, he worked diligently for the restoration of the faith in Germany, opposing the spread of Protestantism. He was unable to prevent the invasion and pillaging of his own territory during the Thirty Years’ War.
BIBL.: Pastor, XI-XIII, passim; K. Schafmeister, F. von B. als Fürstbischof V. Münster, Münster 1912; M. Braubach, s. V. in LThK, III, cols. 999–1000. Alfonso D'Amato