St. Maximilian Kolbe
St. Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish Conventual Franciscan, totally consecrated to Mary, who spread devotion through his Militia of the Immaculate and his publications. At Auschwitz he gave his life in place of another prisoner. He was canonized in 1982 as a "martyr of charity." His feast is August 14.
In three points
- As a boy he chose both crowns Mary offered him, purity and martyrdom
- He founded the Militia of the Immaculate, Niepokalanów, and a mission in Nagasaki
- At Auschwitz he took the place of Franciszek Gajowniczek and died on August 14, 1941
- He is patron of journalists, families, prisoners, the pro-life movement and the addicted
His early life
Raymond Kolbe was born January 8, 1894, in Poland, then part of the Russian Empire. Around age ten, troubled by his mother's question about what would become of him, he prayed to Mary, who appeared holding a white crown for purity and a red crown for martyrdom. He said, "I choose both." He and his brothers joined the Conventual Franciscans; he took the name Maximilian in 1910 and earned doctorates in philosophy and theology in Rome.
Apostle of Mary
In Rome he founded the Militia of the Immaculate, to advance the reign of the Sacred Heart through total consecration to Mary and to counter anti-Catholic movements, especially Freemasonry. His magazine Knight of the Immaculate reached a million copies in 1938. He founded Niepokalanów, the "City of the Immaculate," and as a missionary in Japan (1930-1936) the Garden of the Immaculate in Nagasaki.
Martyrdom
In World War II his friary sheltered thousands of refugees, including Jews. The Nazis arrested him in 1941 and sent him to Auschwitz. When a prisoner escaped in July 1941, ten men were chosen to starve to death. One, Franciszek Gajowniczek, cried out for his wife and children, and Kolbe took his place. After two weeks without food or water he was killed by injection of carbolic acid on August 14, 1941, the eve of the Assumption. "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends" (John 15:13).
Saint
St. Paul VI beatified him in 1971, and St. John Paul II canonized him on October 10, 1982, calling him a "martyr of charity." He is patron of journalists, families, prisoners, the pro-life movement, the chemically addicted and those with eating disorders. His shrine is at Niepokalanów, west of Warsaw.
His words
- "Hate is not creative. Only love is creative."
- "The most deadly poison of our time is indifference."
- "Let us remember that love lives through sacrifice and is nourished by giving."
- "Through the Immaculata to Jesus."
- "No one's conversion is impossible."
Even in the darkest times, Christ's love can shine through our actions (see 2 Corinthians 12:8-10).
Key Scripture
Read online with linked Scripture: catholic.id/tracts/saint-maximilian-kolbe/