St. Maximilian Kolbe was filled with zeal and love for Jesus and his Immaculate Mother. From a young age, he sought to evangelize the world through modern technology and by establishing missions in Europe, Japan, and India.
- A Profound Homily - are we merely receivers of mercy, or givers of it as well?
- Bishop Barron's commentary about Kolbe and the stained glass window at the Mundelein Seminary
- 9 things to know about St. Maximilian Kolbe
- Bio
- Movie - Life for a Life
- Pilgrimage to the National Shrine in Libertyville, IL
- Additional Resources and Links
By: Bishop Robert Barron
Watch Bishop Barron's commentary on St. Maximilian Kolbe and the symbolism of the beautiful stained glass window in the St. John Paul II Chapel.
By: Ellyn von Huben
“Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” - John 15:13
That verse certainly comes to mind whenever I think of St. Maximilian Kolbe, whose feast we celebrate today. So it’s not surprising to read that these were the opening words of the papal decree introducing his beatification. St. Maximilian Kolbe was arrested in Poland in February of 1941, and in May sent to the Auschwitz death camp. As prisoner #16670, he eventually laid down his life for another prisoner on August 14, 1941, at the young age of 47.
When a prisoner escaped late in July of that year, ten men from his barracks were picked to suffer death by starvation as both punishment and deterrent. Fr. Maximilian offered to take the place of one of the men; Franciszek Gajowniczek had let out a cry of pain for his family and this holy priest volunteered to take his place.
What followed were weeks of unimaginable horror, as the men suffered the pains of dehydration and starvation. But this holy man not only offered to be one of the suffering, he ministered to them as well. After three weeks there were only four prisoners left alive. It was on this day in 1941, the day before the Church celebrates the Assumption of St. Maximilian’s beloved Mary, the Immaculata, that Fr. Kolbe and three fellow prisoners were killed with injections of carbolic acid.
By the late 1940’s the cause for Fr. Kolbe's beatification had begun. He was beatified by Pope Paul VI in 1971 and canonized by his fellow Pole, Pope John Paul II in 1982.
For those who know little beyond the story of the horrific and glorious last days of this saint, I would like to share nine things you should know:
- Mary appeared to him as a boy.
Baptized as Raymund Kolbe, our saint was a normal child and the stories of his childhood don’t have the false patina that Flannery O’Connor said exist in the stories of pious children. Yet there is this one stunning exception. One night in Kolbe’s childhood, Our Lady appeared to him in a dream holding a white crown and a red crown. He later related, “She asked 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.” So, yes, St. Maximillian had a normal childhood, but with one tremendous difference that was to define the course of his life.
--> READ FULL POST (and the other 8 things)
St. Maximilian Kolbe was born as Raymund Kolbe on January 8, 1894, in the Kingdom of Poland, part of the Russian Empire. He was a Polish Conventual Franciscan friar and a martyr in the German death Camp of Auschwitz during World War II.
St. Maximilian Kolbe 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.
"That night I asked the Mother of God what was to become of me. 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." --> Read Full Bio
Watch the two video biographies below - 1st one is 3 minutes and the second one 30 minutes (full story with great images)
For an artful, intriguing meditation on the meaning of Kolbe’s life and death, the film to watch is Krzysztof Zanussi's haunting 1991 film Life for Life: Maximilian Kolbe.
By: Robert Mixa
--> Read Full Post | --> Watch Trailer
The John Paul II Chapel (at the Mundelein Seminary) has many beautiful stained glass windows depicting the lives of the saints who particularly touched John Paul II. One of the reasons Fr. Barron had the windows of the saints focus on moments of witness was that he wants the seminarians to see
such witness and be inspired to imitate each saint’s Christocentric love in their lives. While the windows are great, I recently watched a Polish movie about St. Maximillian Kolbe that brought me to tears. It is the motion picture version of the Kolbe stained glass window in the John Paul II Chapel.
My wife is from Poland, and she has immersed me in Polish culture. Understanding and speaking Polish is not easy, so I mainly learn through pierogis and movies. Growing up in America, I thought American cinema was the epicenter of film. Isn’t the Academy Award the pinnacle award for filmmakers? Too lazy to read subtitles, I never watched many foreign films. I also was too impatient to sit through films with character development and a dramatic plot. However, through the insistence of my wife I have begun watching Polish films, and I am tending to think the genius for film resides there. In fact, Martin Scorsese agrees. --> Read Full Post
Website: www.Marytown.com | Sample Pilgrimage Itineraries
Marytown – the National Shrine of St. Maximilian Kolbe, is located in Libertyville, IL in the Archdiocese of Chicago. Marytown is called the “Third city of the Immaculate” (after Niepokalanow, Poland and Nagasaki, Japan) and is a ministry of the Conventual Franciscans Friars of St. Bonaventure Province.
Marytown is the National Shrine of St. Maximilian Kolbe as decreed by the U.S. Catholic Bishops. The National Shrine is a place of pilgrimage for the faithful and is dedicated to promoting the witness and life of St. Maximilian. Blessed John Paul II referred to Maximilian Kolbe as “the patron Saint of our difficult century.” The National Shrine dedicated to the Saint includes the Shrine Chapel, an educational Holocaust exhibit, and the relics of St. Maximilian.
At the very heart of Marytown is Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, considered one of the most beautiful pilgrimage sites in the nation. The Chapel has been a sanctuary of perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament since 1928. The Chapel is open to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for Eucharistic Adoration and prayer. In addition to adoration, we offer twice daily masses and four times daily we celebrate the Liturgy of the Hours with the public. Marytown serves the spiritual needs of a broad community of people – locally and nationally – through our Adoration ministry, daily masses, frequent confession schedule, spiritual direction and spiritual retreats.
Marytown is the National Center of the Militia Immaculata (MI), a global evangelization movement founded by St. Maximilian and canonically established as a Primary Union by the Holy See. Marytown is the spiritual home for nearly 80,000 MI members throughout the United States and Canada. The MI apostolate includes communications ministries, MI Youth, Prison Outreach and international Diplomatic ministries. We are also the spiritual home and workplace of the Daughters of the Immaculata, the Secular Franciscan Order (OFS), and the Kolbe Corps volunteer programs. --> Read More
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