Andrius Rudamina

Andrius Rudamina or Lu Ngan tö Pan Sze, S.J. (; ; 1596 – 5 September 1631) was the first Lithuanian Jesuit missionary in China and India.

Early life Andrius Rudamina was born into an old and distinguished Lithuanian noble family in the village of Rudamina, which is away from the country's capital, Vilnius. His father, Jan (or Andrzej) Rudamina, was the mayor of Vilnius and his mother was Dorota Galwelanka. He was then sent to study theology at the Jesuit University in Vilnius. At that time, he befriended Andrew Bobola, who came to be known as the Apostle of Lithuania and became a saint, as well as Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski, a renowned Jesuit poet. Rudamina and Sarbiewski remained close friends for many years to come, and just before Rudamina's journey to India, Sarbiewski wrote a poem in honour of Rudamina, titled Ad Andream Rudaminum. Between 1620 and 1622, Rudamina studied theology at the Vilnius Academy. In 1622, Rudamina, together with a small number of other young and talented Jesuits from Vilnius, were sent to Rome to continue with their theological studies at the Roman College. Although Rudamina recovered from the malaria, he became infected with a pulmonary disease during the trip. Yet despite his health problems, he was committed to learning Chinese. He confessed and preached in the language. His body was buried in the missionary cemetery in a separate tomb in the shape of a chapel. This tomb soon became a place of pilgrimage. His missionary work in China and his last days were described by Benedict de Matos, the Jesuit Provincial Superior of the Fuzhou Province of China, in the text Vita et mors P. Andree Rudomina ex litteris p. Benedicti de Matos socii eiusdem in missione sinensi.