Władysław Bukowiński
Polish Catholic priest, missionary and beati (1904–1974)
Feast: 20 June (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
The Vatican record
- 22 January 2015 — Heroic virtue declared — title Venerable (decree list, 2015)
- 14 December 2015 — Miracle through their intercession approved (decree list, 2015)
Who they were
Władysław Bukowiński was born at Berdychiv, now in Ukraine, on 22 December 1904, and became a Polish diocesan priest.
He was arrested several times by the Soviet authorities and spent years in the gulag. On his release he chose to stay in Kazakhstan, serving scattered Catholics in and around Karaganda for the rest of his life. He died in Karaganda on 3 December 1974.
The miracles
Fr Mariusz Kowalski, a priest — Kazakhstan — 2008
A priest was healed of a brain haemorrhage. The case was investigated in Karaganda in May 2013, and the Vatican's medical board and theologians approved it.
One more approved miracle is needed for canonisation.
Why that counted as sanctity
The case of Fr Mariusz Kowalski, a priest was examined by the Church's doctors and theologians and approved as a miracle on 14 December 2015, opening the way to beatification. Beatification followed on 11 September 2016 by Cardinal Angelo Amato, for Pope Francis.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - decree of 14 Dec 2015
- Crux / CNS - priest shipped to the gulag, who stayed to serve, is beatified
- Wikipedia - Władysław Bukowiński
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints — promulgated decrees (causesanti.va), summarised in our own words
- Wikidata Q4098614 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Władysław Bukowiński (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.