FORMER RADIO HOST KEVIN MATTHEWS PRESENTS BROKEN MARY STATUE TO POPE LEO XIV
VATICAN CITY – On the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, last Wednesday, the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, bestowed his blessing at the Vatican upon a statue discovered years ago in a dumpster by Michigan native and Chicago radio host Kevin Matthews. Recognizing the powerful message conveyed by the image, the Holy Father also approved the title “Our Lady of the Broken,” affirming it as a sign of hope for all who feel discarded, forgotten, or wounded.
Moved by the story and its meaning, Pope Leo reflected on the deep need for hope in today’s world. “How many people – perhaps we ourselves – feel like they are worthless or broken. It is as if their light has been hidden. Jesus, however, proclaims a God who will never throw us away, a Father who cares for our names and our uniqueness.”
The blessing demonstrates the Church’s mission to proclaim God’s mercy and to remind every person of their dignity and worth.
The initiative stems from a personal experience and a written story by Matthews involving the statue, which mirrors the brokenness, healing, and renewed faith he experienced following his 2008 diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.
Since the publishing of Broken Mary: A Kevin Matthews Story, a documentary film (released in October 2025 by Odb Films) detailing how the renowned radio personality found purpose after discovering the broken statue of the Virgin Mary, Matthews has visited 100’s of churches, Catholic colleges, and community groups throughout the U.S., sharing the message that even when people feel like “garbage” or are broken, they are still loved by God.
The story of Broken Mary is documented through Pray the Rosary: The Broken Mary Project. Matthews, often seen on social media and in conversation as “Mary’s Roadie”.
Departing from Chicago O’Hare Airport this past week, Matthews, Father Joshua Caswell, a priest at St. John Cantius Catholic Church in Chicago, and the Broken Mary statue were welcomed by Swiss Air pilots (Zurich to Rome), who invited the 55-pound statue to travel alongside them in the cockpit, as her traveling case exceeded the plane’s load limit restrictions.
When not traveling, Broken Mary is housed and venerated at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, located at 2510 Richmond Street NW in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where prayers are offered, especially before Mass.
Additional background:
Kevin Matthews was once a voice to more than 10 million weekly listeners in his role as former Chicago radio personality on stations WLUP-AM and FM (The Loop) and WCKG-FM during the 1980’s and 1990’s.
Broken Mary is a chipped, half-broken stature of the Virgin Mary rescued from a dumpster by Matthews in 2010. The Very Reverend Joshua Caswell, SJC, is a Catholic priest and Superior General of the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius in Chicago.