The Life & Times of
 St.Maximilian Kolbe

Maximilian Kolbe was born January 8, 1894, the son of a Polish/German family. His parents worked as weavers and later ran a bookstore. In 1914 his father joined the Polish Legions and was captured by Russians for fighting for the independence of Poland. In 1907 Kolbe and his elder brother decided to join the Conventual Franciscan Order. They illegally crossed the border between Russia and Austria-Hungary and entered the junior seminary. Maximilian took his final vows in 1914 in Rome taking the name Maximilian Maria showing his devotion to the Blessed Mother.

In 1919 he returned to the newly independent Poland where he promoted devotion to the Immaculate Virgin Mary. He founded, a monastery, radio station, and several other organizations and publications. Between 1930 and 1936 he embarked on a series of missions to Japan establishing a monastery, seminary, and newspaper. The monastery remains prominent in Japan today.

During the Second World War, in the friary, Kolbe provided shelter to refugees from Poland, including 2,000 Jews that he hid from Nazi persecution. He was active on the radio vilifying Nazi activities.

On February 17, 1941, Maximilian was arrested by the German Gestapo and imprisoned, eventually being transferred to Auschwitz as prisoner #16670.

In July 1941, a man from Kolbe’s barracks vanished. The SS, in retaliation, picked 10 men from the same barracks to be starved to death in Block 11 (notorious for torture) in order to prevent future escape attempts. (The man who had disappeared was later found in the camp latrine.) One of the selected men, Franciszek Gajowniczek, cried out over his family and Kolbe volunteered to take his place in the starvation bunker.

During the time in the cell Kolbe led the men in songs and prayer. After three weeks of dehydration and starvation, only Kolbe and three others were still alive. Finally he was executed with an injection of carbolic acid.

Gajowniczek survived the camp and when Kolbe was beatified by the Roman Catholic Church Franciszek Gajowniczek was present in Rome for that ceremony. Kolbe was canonized a saint on October 10, 1982 by Pope John Paul II and declared a martyr of charity. He is the patron saint of drug addicts, political prisoners, families, journalists, amateur radio, prisoners, and the pro-life movement. John Paul further declared him “The Patron Saint of Our Difficult Century.”

The charism of our patron is found alive in our parish in all ministries and most especially in the outreach ministries.