Szwermicki, Szwernicki or maybe Szwirmicki? A contribution to the biography of an exile priest, parish priest in Irkutsk in the 19th century
Szwermicki, Szwernicki or maybe Szwirmicki? A contribution to the biography of an exile priest, parish priest in Irkutsk in the 19th century

Summary/Abstract: The article is dedicated to the historically original figure of Krzysztof Szwermicki (1814-1894), a Marian priest, an exile to Siberia in the middle of the 19th century, then for many years, a parish priest in Irkutsk, who died there. On the basis of new materials - the parish books of the parish of Dauksze (today in Lithuania) - stored in the Lithuanian Historical Archive in Vilnius, the author establishes many facts, and corrects the errors in the biography of Father Szwermicki, one of the most interesting, exceptionally positive figures of the Catholic Church in Russia. The most important findings include the following: he was born on September 6, 1814 into a peasant family, to Adam and Catherine, in the village of Warnupiany, in the parish of Dauksze near Mariampol; on September 8 he was baptized with the name Krzysztof; he had the family name of Szwirmicki, which he later changed to Szwermicki, although he was also known and described as Szwernicki. He died in Irkutsk on October 31 (according to the Julian calendar), 1894, and was buried on November 3 in the Jerusalem cemetery (the grave does not exist). In historical literature he was more often spelled: Szwernicki. The author of the text argues that he should be spelled: Krzysztof Szwermicki, or more fully: Krzysztof Szwermicki (Szwernicki).

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