SAINT OF THE DAY
WEDNESDAY, 14 AUGUST, 2024
SAINT MAXIMILLIAN KOLBE
PRIEST AND MARTYR
(8 January 1894 - 14 August 1941)
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EARLY LIFE
Raymund Kolbe was born on 8 January 1894 In Zdunska Wola, in the Kingdom of Poland (then part of the Russian Empire). His father was German, his mother Polish. His parents were relatively poor, and in 1914, his father was captured by the Russians and hanged for his part in fighting for an independent Poland.
Raymund developed a strong religious yearning from an early life. He recounts an early childhood vision of the Virgin Mary. This vision was significant because he chose both the path of sanctity and also to follow the path of a martyr.
“That night, I asked the Mother of God what was to become of me, a Child of Faith. Then she came to me holding two crowns, one white, the other red. She asked me if I was willing to accept either of these crowns. The white one meant that I should persevere in purity, and the red that I should become a martyr. I said that I would accept them both.” Aged only 13, Kolbe and his elder brother left home to enrol in the Conventual Franciscan seminary in Lwow. This seminary was in Austria-Hungary and it meant illegally crossing the border.
In 1910, he was given the religious name Maximillian and was admitted as an initiate. He took his final vows as a monk in 1914. After a short period in Krakow, Poland – Kolbe went to study in Rome, Italy. He gained a doctorate in philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University in 1915. A few years later, he also gained a doctorate of theology in 1919 from the University of St. Bonaventure.
Kolbe was ordained a priest and after completing his studies returned to the newly independent Poland in 1919. He settled in the monastery of Niepokalanów near Warsaw. Towards the end of his studies, Kolbe suffered his first bout of tuberculosis and he became quite ill, often coughing up blood; the illness disrupted his studies. Throughout the rest of his life he experienced poor health, but never complained, seeing his illness as an opportunity to ‘suffer for Mary'.
Kolbe was an active priest and particularly keen to work for the conversion of sinners and enemies of the Catholic Church. During his time in Rome, he witnessed angry protests by the Freemasons against the Vatican. Kolbe had a strong devotion to the Virgin Mary and he became an active participant in the Militia Immaculata or Army of Mary.
“I felt the Immaculata drawing me to herself more and more closely… I had a custom of keeping a holy picture of one of the Saints to whom she appeared on my prie-dieu in my cell, and I used to pray to the Immaculata very fervently”. He felt a strong motivation to ‘fight for Mary' against enemies of the church. It was Kolbe who sought to reinvigorate the work of the MI (Militia Immaculata). Kolbe helped the Immaculata Friars to publish high pamphlets, books and a daily newspaper – Maly Dziennik. The monthly magazine grew to have a circulation of over 1 million and was influential amongst Polish Catholics. Kolbe even gained a radio licence and publicly broadcast his views on religion. Kolbe was successful in using the latest technology to spread his message.
As well as writing extensive essays and pieces for the newspaper, Kolbe composed the Immaculata Payer – the consecration to the immaculately conceived Virgin Mary. He also composed Polish songs to the Virgin Mary.
KOLBE IN JAPAN
In 1930, Kolbe travelled to Japan, where he spent several years serving as a missionary. He founded a monastery on the outskirts of Nagasaki (the monastery survived the atomic blast, shielded by a mountain). He also entered into dialogue with local Buddhist priests and some of them became friends. However, increasingly ill, he returned to Poland in 1936.
SECOND WORLD WAR
At the start of the Second World War, Kolbe was residing in the friary at Niepokalanow, the “City of the Immaculata.” By that time, it had expanded from 18 friars to 650 friars – making it the largest Catholic house in Europe.
When Poland was overrun by the Nazi forces in 1939, he was arrested under general suspicion on 13 September, but was released after three months. On being released, many Polish refugees and Jews sought sanctuary in Kolne's monastery. Kolbe and the community at Niepokalanów helped to hide, feed and clothe 3,000 Polish refugees, (of which 2,000 were Jews). Kolbe also published an illegal radio broadcast, in which he denounced the crimes of the Nazis. In 1941, he also published an edition of “The Knight of the Immaculate” offering strong criticism of the Nazis.
KOLBE IN AUSCHWITZ
Shortly after this publication, on the 17 February 1941, he was arrested by the Gestapo for hiding Jewish people. After a brief internment in a notorious Polish prison, he was sent to Auschwitz concentration camp and branded prisoner #16670. Kolbe was sent to the work camp. This involved carrying blocks of heavy stone for the building of the crematorium wall. The work party was overseen by a vicious ex-criminal ‘Bloody Krott' who came to single out Kolbe for particularly brutal treatment. Witnesses say Kolbe accepted his mistreatment and blows with surprising calm.
Despite the awful conditions of Auschwitz, people report that Kolbe retained a deep faith, equanimity and dignity in the face of appalling treatment. Prisoners also report that he remained selfless, often sharing his meagre rations with others.
In July 1941, three prisoners appeared to have escaped from the camp; as a result the Deputy Commander of Auschwitz ordered 10 men to be chosen to be starved to death in an underground bunker. When one of the selected men Franciszek Gajowniczek heard he was selected, he cried out ‘My wife! My children!” At this point Kolbe volunteered to take his place. Kolbe pointed with his hand to the condemned Franciszek Gajowniczek and repeated ‘I am a Catholic priest from Poland; I would like to take his place, because he has a wife and children.
Rather surprised, the commander accepted Kolbe in place of Gajowniczek. Franciszek Gajowniczek would miraculously survive Auschwitz, and would later be present at Kolbe's beatification in 1971. The men were led away to the underground bunker where they were to be starved to death. It is said that in the bunker, Kolbe would lead the men in prayer and singing hymns to Mary. When the guards checked the cell, Kolbe could be seen praying in the middle.
After two weeks, nearly all the prisoners, except Kolbe had died due to dehydration and starvation. Because the guards wanted the cell emptied, the remaining prisoners and Kolbe were executed with a lethal injection. Those present say he calmly accepted death, lifting up his arm. His remains were unceremoniously cremated on 15 August. Pope John Paul II canonized Maximilian as a "martyr of charity" in 1982.
PATRON: Drug addiction; drug addicts; families; imprisoned people; journalists; political prisoners; prisoners; pro-life movement.
PRAYER: O God, who filled the Priest and Martyr Saint Maximilian Kolbe with a burning love for the Immaculate Virgin Mary and with zeal for souls and love of neighbor, graciously grant, through his intercession, that striving for your glory by eagerly serving others, we may be conformed, even until death, to your Son. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.