Tris(bipyridine)ruthenium(II) is used as a templating agent to insert palladium(II) into three-dimensional oxalate-based networks. The templated-assembly of [Ru(bpy)(3)][Pd-2(ox)(3)] (Pd2) and [Ru(bpy)(3)][PdMn(ox)(3)] (PdMn) is described. The latter compound is structurally characterized by powder X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. These techniques reveal an unusual 6-fold oxygen environment around the Pd(II) atoms with two short (2.02 A) and four long (2.17 angstrom) Pd-O distances. As stated by magnetometry, this environment is associated with a triplet ground state (S = 1) of the palladium(II) ion: when the temperature is decreased, the chi T-M product shows a monotonous decrease from 5.54 cm(3) K mol(-1) at 300 K, a value which is slightly lower than the one expected for independent paramagnetic Pd(II) (S = 1, g = 2) and Mn(II) (S = (5)/(2), g = 2) ions. This thermal variation is due to antiferromagnetic exchange interactions between the two spin bearers. Nevertheless, no long-range magnetic order is detected down to 2 K. These results are confirmed by an analysis of the [M-II(C2O4)(3)](4-) (M = Ni, Pd, Pt) complex and of a [Pd-II{mu-(C2O4)Mn-II(OH2)(4)}(3)](2+) tetranuclear model using density functional theory.