Vladislao Bukowiński, priest (1904–1974)

Biography

Priest and apostle from Kazakhstan, Vladislao Bukowiński supported clandestine Catholic communities during Soviet persecution. Trained in Poland, he ministered in Ukraine until he was repeatedly arrested and sent to prisons, labor camps, and mines. In the gulag he celebrated mass in secret, confessed, catechized and prayed with a rosary made of breadcrumbs. Released, he chose to remain among the deportees rather than seek a safer life. He traveled enormous distances to administer the sacraments in private homes and villages where there were no churches.