Is a forgotten Polish martyr working healing miracles in Massachusetts?
A quiet parish in Dudley, Massachusetts, is quickly becoming one of America’s most intriguing Catholic pilgrimage destinations.
The National Shrine of St. Andrew Bobola, which holds a first-class relic of the Polish martyr, attracts visitors from across the United States and Canada, and several visitors report remarkable healings and answered prayers.
“Three miracles happened after the dedication,” shrine rector Father Krzysztof Korcz said during a recent interview with EWTN’s Father Mitch Pacwa. “People were praying in the shrine after the dedication, and they were healed from some kind of cancer. This is the time of investigation.”
While the parish itself was established as a “mission church” in 1954, the church was elevated to a shrine on May 11, 2025, and is the only shrine dedicated to St. Andrew Bobola in the United States. This 17th-century Jesuit saint is very much beloved in Poland; however, many American Catholics are only now discovering his extraordinary story.
Who is Saint Andrew Bobola?
Born in 1591, St. Andrew Bobola entered the Society of Jesus and spent his priesthood preaching, hearing confessions, and catechizing Catholics throughout the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He became known for bringing fallen-away Catholics back to the faith and
