Maximilian Kolbe
Maximilian Kolbe (8 January 1894 – 14 August 1941) was a Polish Franciscan priest (Conventual Franciscan). He is known for volunteering to die in place of another prisoner, Franciszek Gajowniczek, at the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1941.[1][2]
Early life
[change | change source]Kolbe was born in Zduńska Wola, Poland (then part of the Russian Empire). He was baptized Raymund. He joined the Conventual Franciscans and was ordained a priest in 1918.[3]
Work
[change | change source]In 1917, Kolbe helped to start the association Militia of the Immaculata (Militia Immaculatae) in Rome.[4] He set up a large friary and printing house at Niepokalanów, near Warsaw, which printed the monthly magazine Rycerz Niepokalanej (Knight of the Immaculate).[5] In 1930 he opened a mission house in Nagasaki, Japan, where a Japanese edition of the magazine (Seibo no Kishi) began to appear.[6]
Immaculata Militia
[change | change source]In 1917 Kolbe started a Catholic group called the Immaculata Militia (Militia Immaculatae). Its members consecrate themselves to the Virgin Mary and try to bring other people to Jesus through her. Kolbe used printing, radio, and new monasteries, including one in Japan, to spread this movement. The group is still active in many countries today.
Arrest and death
[change | change source]During World War II, Kolbe was arrested by the German authorities and sent to Auschwitz. In July 1941 he offered to take the place of a prisoner chosen to die after an escape from the camp. After two weeks without food and water, he was killed on 14 August 1941 by a lethal injection.[7]
Veneration
[change | change source]Kolbe was beatified on 17 October 1971 and canonized on 10 October 1982. His feast day is 14 August.[8]
Related pages
[change | change source]References
[change | change source]- ↑ "Saint Maksymilian Maria Kolbe". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
- ↑ "The sacrifice and death of Father Maximilian Kolbe". Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
- ↑ "Saint Maksymilian Maria Kolbe". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
- ↑ "The MI General Statutes (Preamble)" (PDF). Pontifical Council for the Laity / MI. 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
- ↑ "Saint Maksymilian Maria Kolbe". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
- ↑ "The Nagasaki mission house built by St. Maximilian Kolbe that survived the atomic bomb". Catholic News Agency. 9 August 2024. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
- ↑ "The sacrifice and death of Father Maximilian Kolbe". Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
- ↑ "Saint Maksymilian Maria Kolbe". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 4 November 2025.