Saint Maximilian Kolbe was born in Poland in 1894, originally named Raymond. He was an energetic boy from an early age and was very inquisitive. But an amazing thing happened to Raymond when he was twelve. A vision of the Virgin Mary appeared to Raymond one day when he was praying.
“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 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.” – Saint Maximilian
Ever since the day of his vision, Raymond was determined to live out the life he had promised to the Virgin Mary. Mary became one of the greatest inspirations for the rest of his life.
Raymond eventually joined the Franciscan Order and adopted the name “Maximilian” when he was twenty. So devoted was Maximilian to Mary, that he organized a group within the Franciscans known as the Militia Immaculata (the Army of Mary). Maximilian focused especially on the conversion of people to Catholicism with the members of the Militia Immaculata. He and some of his other brothers started up religious newspapers and magazines that quickly became widely circulated. Kolbe was eventually was ordained a priest and went on several missions to Japan. While in Japan, Maximilian founded a monastery and started a Catholic newspaper. The monastery still stands to this day.
With the Nazi regime taking over Europe, Maximilian and his fellow members of the Army of Mary housed approximately 3,000 refugees from Poland, including 2,000 Jews. They gave them shelter, medical attention, and helped feed them. Maximilian and his fellow monks started preaching against the Nazis in their newspapers. The newspapers spoke of the love of God and freedom from the opression of the Nazis. Because of Maximilian’s sheltering of refugees, especially Jews, in addition to his newspapers, the Nazis arrested Maximilian and had him taken to a concentration camp in Auschwitz.
While at Auschwitz, Maximilian heard confessions and led prisoners in prayer. When a prisoner escaped from the concentration camp, 10 prisoners were selected to be starved to death as a punishment. One man selected, Franciszek Gajowniczek, had a wife and young children, so Maximilian volunteered to take his place. Maximilian and the other 9 men were subjected to starvation and dehydration for several weeks in a remote cell until only a couple men were left alive. During those weeks, Maximilian taught the Catholic faith to the other prisoners and led them in prayer. But, after those weeks ended and Maximilian and one or two men were the only ones still breathing, the Nazis gave Maximilian a lethal injection. With that injection, Maximilian fulfilled the two promises he had made to the Virgin Mary. He lived a life of purity and died a martyr.
Maximilian is a great example of faith for all, even if they are not Catholic. He devoted his entire life to the spread of Catholicism and what he believed was the work of God, and he did it while battling bad health as a result from several battles with tuberculosis.
