Saint of the day, May 16
May 16 - St. Andrew Bobola
Born: 1591
Died: 1657
Nationality: Polish
Vocation: Jesuit Missionary
Patronage: Poland
Canonization: Pope Pius XI in 1938
Andrew was a Polish martyr born in 1590 to a noble family. He entered the Jesuits in 1622 and three years later went to Vilna, Lithuania, as a missionary and to continue his formation. He professed his final vows in 1630 and was made a superior of the Jesuits in Brobuisk. There he distinguished himself through his leadership and consideration of the poor, especially the victims of the plague.
He is known most especially for his missionary work in the Orthodox community. Andrew lived for 20 years catechizing and working for the Lithuanian communities, often converting whole parishes to Catholicism.
On May 10, 1657, while Andrew celebrated Mass, he was kidnapped from the Church by two Cossacks. He was dragged behind their horses to his place of torture. He was found partially flayed after refusing to renounce his faith. He died a martyr in 1657 and, when his body was exhumed in 1719, he was found to be incorrupt. His body now lies in the Jesuit Church in Krakow, Poland.
