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 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.

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.