Wojciech Męciński

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.

[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, upon his second visit he was quickly caught, tortured and martyred.