St. Josaphat Kuntsevych was born in the late sixteenth century in what is now Ukraine and became a monk, priest and eventually Archbishop of Polotsk. He lived during a period of deep religious division and devoted much of his ministry to strengthening communion between his Eastern Catholic Church and Rome.

His efforts were strongly opposed by some of those around him, and tensions eventually turned violent. In 1623, Josaphat was killed during an uprising in Vitebsk. The Catholic Church remembers him as a martyr for Christian unity and as a witness to the difficult work of reconciliation within a divided Church.