Saint Maximilian Kolbe OFM Conv. was a Polish Conventual Franciscan Friar who was very active in promoting the Immaculate Virgin Mary and is known as the Apostle of Consecration to Mary. Much of his life was strongly influenced by a vision he had of the Virgin Mary when he was 12. (catholic.org) By age fourteen, Kolbe decided to join the Conventual Franciscans. St. Maximilian Kolbe is well known for volunteering to take the place of a condemned prisoner in a death camp. Kolbe’s death was not a sudden, last-minute act of heroism. His whole life had been a preparation. His holiness was a limitless, passionate desire to convert the whole world to God. And his beloved Immaculata was his inspiration. (franciscanmedia.org)
About St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe
St. Priest, Publisher, Evangelist, Martyr.
During his seminary studies in Rome, Maximilian responded to the anti-clerical attacks against the Church by forming a new spiritual movement with several of his friar classmates. They called themselves the “Knights of the Immaculata” and consecrated themselves totally to the Virgin Mary in order to lead others to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
During his seminary studies in Rome, Maximilian responded to the anti-clerical attacks against the Church by forming a new spiritual movement with several of his friar classmates. They called themselves the “Knights of the Immaculata” and consecrated themselves totally to the Virgin Mary in order to lead others to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
This Militia of the Immaculata (M.I.) movement that began in 1917 quickly grew and a few years after his ordination, Maximilian was given permission to establish a printing apostolate to expand the evangelization efforts of the M.I. Eventually this endeavor grew so large that a new friary complex was built and named the “City of the Immaculata.” With over 600 friars working diligently, Maximilian’s community was not only the largest religious house in the world, but it also published the most read daily newspaper in the Polish language.
With a deep love for the missionary charism of the Order, Maximilian set off for Japan with a handful of friars and set up a publishing apostolate near Nagasaki in 1930. The evangelization ministry flourished until the advent of World War II. Maximilian returned to Poland where he and his friars cared for the needs of refugees and wounded soldiers. Highly influential among his people, Maximilian was considered a dangerous threat to the Nazis. He was arrested, jailed, and finally sent to the concentration camp called Auschwitz.
After brutal months of forced labor, Maximilian offered his life as a martyr of charity for the life of a fellow prisoner. He was placed in a starvation bunker with 9 other men and on August 14, 1941 his life ended with a lethal injection.
Kolbe was canonized in 1982, the 800th anniversary of Saint Francis’ birth, by Pope John Paul II who declared Saint Maximilian Kolbe to be a Martyr of Charity. Kolbe’s is often depicted in a prison uniform and with a needle being injected into an arm. He is considered the patron saint of drug addicts, prisoners, families, and the pro-life movement, and his feast day is celebrated on August 14.
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A SINGLE ACT OF LOVE MAKES THE SOUL RETURN TO LIFE. – Maximilian Kolbe