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.

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.

It is believed that he was the first documented case of a Pole setting foot into the Philippines. 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.

After arriving in Japan in 1642, being the first Pole to do, upon his second visit he was quickly caught, tortured and martyred.