Józef Baka (Lithuanian: ''Juozapas Baka'') was a late

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

poet, Jesuit priest and missionary. Born in March of either 1706 or 1707, probably in

Nowogrodek Novogrudok ( be, Навагрудак, Navahrudak; lt, Naugardukas; pl, Nowogródek; russian: Новогрудок, Novogrudok; yi, נאַוואַראַדאָק, Novhardok, Navaradok) is a town in the Grodno Region, Belarus. In the Middle A ...

, Baka is regarded as one of the most prominent poets of the 18th century

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...

Life

Early years

Little is known about early days of his life, furthermore, no portrait of Baka has been found so far. He was born into a wealthy family living in the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...

and his father Adam Baka was a treasurer of the

Mscislaw Voivodeship Mstislaw Voivodeship or Mścisław Voivodeship ( be, Амсьці́слаўскае ваяво́дзтва, pl, Województwo Mścisławskie, la, Palatinatus Mscislaviensis) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Grand ...

. Baka entered the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

on July 16, 1723 and in 1735 he was ordained a priest, five years later becoming a monk. He studied at the Vilna Academy, but little is known about his curriculum. It has only been established that Baka passed a theology exam on May 7, 1736. Also, in late 1730s, he lectured rhetorics at the Academy. Some time in late 1730s or early 1740s, Baka left

Vilna Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional u ...

for the town of Kraslaw (now

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

, then

Inflanty Voivodeship The Inflanty Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo inflanckie), or ''Livonian Voivodeship'', also known as Polish Livonia, was an administrative division and local government in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, since it was formed in the 1620s out ...

). There, he worked as a priest and a missionary, in the Jesuit office ''Missio Plateriana''. It was most likely in Kraslaw that he wrote his first works. Later on, Baka moved to the village of Blonie (also

Livonia Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...

), where he opened his own office, which he called ''Missio Bakana''. He often traveled across the area, trying to be in touch with local population.

Late years and death

Baka spent final years of his life in Vilna, where he moved for unknown reasons. Since 1756 or 1768, he lived in so-called House of Professors near Jesuit Church of Saint Casimirius. He was very active, sometimes visiting other places, such as

. His sermons were very popular, and in 1773 he was named Doctor of Theology by the Vilna Academy. He died unexpectedly on June 2, 1780 in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. It is unknown why he visited the capital of the Commonwealth, according to available sources, he had never left the Grand Duchy of Lithuania before. His death was mentioned by local daily Gazeta Warszawska. Baka was buried in Warsaw, in a Jesuit church on Świętojańska Street.

External links

BAKA Józef
short bio

1707 births 1780 deaths 18th-century Polish Jesuits New Latin-language poets 18th-century Polish–Lithuanian poets {{RC-clergy-stub