Józef Baka
Illustration — Imaginative, humouristic illustration from a 19th-century edition of Baka's poems, showing Józef Baka and Death Józef Baka (Juozapas Baka; died 1780) was a late Baroque Polish poet, Jesuit priest and missionary. Józef Baka was born in March of either 1706 or 1707, probably in Nowogrodek, Baka is regarded as one of the most prominent poets of the 18th century Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Also recorded as Jozef Baka
Józef Baka

Józef Baka · This file comes from Polona Digital Library and is available under the URL · Public domain
- Born
- 1707 · Navahrudak.
- Died
- 1780 · Warsaw.
- Nationality
- Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
- Occupation
- poet · writer · catholic theologian · missionary · hagiographer
- Fields
- poetry · Catholic theology · rhetoric · hagiography
- Movements
- Baroque
- Education
- Akademia Wileńska
- Languages
- Latin · Polish
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Illustration — Imaginative, humouristic illustration from a 19th-century edition of Baka's poems, showing Józef Baka and Death Józef Baka (Juozapas Baka; died 1780) was a late Baroque Polish poet, Jesuit priest and missionary. Józef Baka was born in March of either 1706 or 1707, probably in Nowogrodek, Baka is regarded as one of the most prominent poets of the 18th century Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
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wikidata · Q1715076 · wikipedia · Józef Baka
In this article
Early years
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 and his father Adam Baka was a treasurer of the Mscislaw Voivodeship. Baka entered the Society of Jesus 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 for the town of Kraslaw (now Latvia, then Inflanty Voivodeship). 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), 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
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 Nowogrodek. 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. 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.

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Józef Baka · This file comes from Polona Digital Library and is available under the URL
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1707
Józef Baka born at Navahrudak.
1780
Józef Baka died at Warsaw.
Places
Named by the record
Places
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Navahrudak.
Birth place
Warsaw.
Death place
Citations
References
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reference work
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Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
38,661 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Jože JavoršekAuthor
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- Józef Andrzej ZałuskiAuthor
- Józef BaranAuthor
- Józef Bohdan ZaleskiAuthor
- Józef CzechowiczAuthor
- Jozef DunajovecAuthor
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