Wojciech Męciński
Wojciech Męciński | |
|---|---|
| Personal life | |
| Born | 1598 |
| Died | 1643 |
| Known for | First Pole to visit south-eastern Asia and Japan |
| Other names | Alberto Polacco Albertus de Polonia |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Order | Jesuits |
| Ordination | February 2, 1628 |
| Senior posting | |
| Post | Superior of the Jesuit mission in Cambodia |
| Period in office | 1637–1642 |
Wojciech Męciński, nicknamed Alberto Polacco (born 1598 in Osmolice – died 23 March 1643 in Nagasaki) was a Polish Catholic Jesuit missionary from Kraków, widely believed to be the first Pole to visit south-eastern Asia and Japan.
In 17th century, he visited Vietnam in a tour through Asia, and had documented about Vietnam as the first Polish official record of the country.[1]
It is believed that he was the first documented case of a Pole setting foot into the Philippines.[2] In 1642, Męciński arrived in Manila from Vietnam along with a large group of fellow Jesuits, where they were greeted by Governor-General Sebastián Hurtado de Corcuera. Męciński stayed in Manila for a few months before he was deployed on his second visit to Japan.[2]
After arriving in Japan in 1642, being the first Pole to do so, upon his second visit he was quickly caught, tortured and martyred.[3]
References
- ^ "Misje Jezuici: Wojciech Męciński". 2012.
- ^ a b Kaluszki, Marian. "Śladami Polaków po świecie: Polacy na Filipinach" (PDF) (in Polish). Przegląd Australijski. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
- ^ Łukasz Zalesiński (2 November 2023), "Pierwszy Polak w Japonii. Dla Europejczyka podróż tam była prawie jak wyrok śmierci", onet.pl (in Polish), Onet Podróże
Bibliography
- Marcin Czermiński, Życie ks. Wojciecha Męcińskiego, Kraków, 1895.
- Hagiografia polska II, s. 124–137.
- W. Padacz, Z polskiej gleby, Kraków, 1973, s. 446–461.
- Olga Kucharczyk: Herby przedstawicieli nacji polskiej na Uniwersytecie Padewskim. Katalog znaków heraldycznych. 2023, s. 340. ISBN 978-83-66172-60-9.
- Biuletyn Informacyjny: Epizody w relacjach japońsko-polskich, publisher: Japanese Embassy in Poland, access date 31.01.2021
- Conrad Totman, Historia Japonii, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego 2009
- Dorota Hałasa, Zygmunt Kwiatkowski, Chrystus w kraju samurajów, Wydawnictwo R-ka 2004