Nicolas Krick
French Catholic priest / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nicolas Michel Krick (born March 1, 1819, in Lixheim, Meurthe, died September 1, 1854) was a priest from Lorraine who became a missionary with the Paris Foreign Missions Society in 1848. He was murdered with Augustin Bourry while attempting to reach Tibet.
Nicolas Krick | |
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Born | Nicolas Michel Krick March 1st, 1819 Lixheim, France |
Died | September 1, 1854 |
Nationality | French |
Occupation(s) | Catholic priest, Missionary |
Organization | Paris Foreign Missions Society |
Born into a Lorraine family with democratic political leanings, he entered the seminary in 1839 and was ordained priest in 1843. After a few years as a priest, he joined the Paris Foreign Missions. He was sent on a mission to Tibet with three other confreres. As it was impossible to reach Tibet via China, which forbade foreigners to enter its territory, they left for North India in order to discover a passage to Tibet via the South. After several months of unsuccessful attempts, Nicolas Krick became the first European to reach Tibet by this route. He wrote about his crossing of North India and his experiences in Relation d'un voyage au Thibet par M. l'abbé Krick, then sent it to Paris. His Relation considerably advanced our then very limited knowledge of the Mishmi tribes and Tibet. After gaining access, he was forced to leave Tibet due to the threats he faced.
He returned to the Assam valley (North India) and fell ill. After several months of recovery, he returned to Tibet, accompanied by Augustin Bourry, a new missionary. They struggled to reach the Tibetan border, only to be murdered in circumstances that remain a mystery. His death was soon considered a martyrdom by Catholics.
While Nicolas Krick was best known for his Relation d'un voyage au Thibet par M. l'abbé Krick, the rapid conversion of Mishmi tribes to Christianity at the end of the 20th century gave Nicolas Krick and Augustin Bourry a new notoriety. With the two missionaries now considered by the new converts to be the founders of their Church, the local bishop decided to initiate the procedure for their beatification.
Nicolas Krick's writings, and in particular his diary, are a reference for ethnologists studying the tribes of North India, particularly the Mishmis. His descriptions of places and local customs are the main written sources of the 19th century for these tribes, who have only oral traditions.