Martyr was missionary in Russia

By Tony Staley
Compass Editor

	St. Andrew Bobola When: 1591-1657 Where: Poland and Lithuania What: Jesuit priest Feast: May 16 Canonized: 1938 Patron: Poland; Apostle of Lithuania

How strong is our faith? How much does it mean to us? The life and martyrdom of St. Andrew Bobola, a 17th century Polish Jesuit priest certainly invites that question.

Andrew was born at Sandomir, Poland, into an aristocratic family. When he was 20, he joined the Jesuits at Vilna, Poland (now Vilnius, Lithuania), and 11 years later was ordained a priest.

At first, he was the pastor at Nieswiez, then at St. Casimir Parish in Vilna where he earned a reputation as an outstanding preacher and for his ministry to the poor and prisoners.

In 1630, eight years after his ordination, Andrew was assigned to Bobruisk as pastor and superior of the Jesuit house. While there a plague broke out and he became widely admired for ministering to the sick and dying.

In 1636, Andrew began the ministry he would do for the rest of his life - a missionary. Much of his work was among the Russian Orthodox, many of whom he convinced to return to communion with Rome. That earned him the ire of Orthodox forces, including Cossacks, Russians and Tartars, who staged raids on the region.

By 1655, the Cossacks had forced many Catholics to flee. This included the Jesuits, who were driven from their parishes and colleges and given refuge in Pinsk by Prince Radziwill. Andrew accepted a house from the prince and turned it into a center for fugitive Jesuits.

In 1657, the Cossacks seized Pinsk and captured Andrew at nearby Peredil. They whipped Andrew, tied him to horses and dragged him for miles back to Janov, where the torture continued. He was interrogated and asked to deny his faith. His steadfast answer infuriated his captors, who slashed at him with his sword, nearly cutting off one of his hands.

After that, he was taken to a slaughterhouse where he was stripped of his clothes and scorched by fire before his torturers began ripping off his skin. Next, they cut off his nose and lips, ripped out his tongue, carved holes in his hands and stabbed him in the chest before beheading him and throwing his body on a dung heap. Throughout his torture he prayed to Jesus and Mary.

His body was later placed in a church, then buried at Pinsk. In 1808, his body was transferred to Polotsk, Byelorussia. The Bolsheviks brought it to a Moscow museum in 1922. The following year, two American Jesuits, acting on behalf of Pope Pius XI, requested Andrew's remains and took them to Rome. They were later returned to Poland and placed in the Jesuit church in Warsaw.

How strong is my faith? How much does it mean to me?