Maximilian was born in January 1894 in Poland and was one
of 5 sons to his devout parents. He contracted tuberculosis and, though he
recovered, he remained frail all his life. In 1907 Kolbe and his elder brother
Francis decided to join the Conventual Franciscans. During his time as a
student, he witnessed vehement demonstrations against Popes St. Pius X and Benedict
XV in Rome and was inspired to organize the Militia Immaculata, or Army of
Mary, to work for conversion of sinners and the enemies of the Catholic Church
through the intercession of the Virgin Mary. The Immaculata friars utilized the
most modern printing and administrative techniques in publishing catechetical
and devotional leaflets, a daily newspaper with a circulation of 230,000 and a
monthly magazine with a circulation of over one million. After receiving a
doctorate in theology, he spread the Movement through a magazine entitled
"The Knight of the Immaculata" and helped form a community of 800
men.
Maximilian went to Japan where he built a monastery and
then on to India where he furthered the Movement. In 1936 he returned home
because of ill health. After the Nazi invasion in 1939, he was imprisoned and
released for a time. He provided shelter to refugees from Greater Poland,
including 2,000 Jews whom he hid from Nazi persecution in his friary in
Niepokalanów. He was also active as a radio amateur, with Polish call letters
SP3RN, vilifying Nazi activities through his reports.
Franciszek Gajowniczek with Pope John Paul in 1982 after the canonization. |
On February 17, 1941 he was arrested again by the German
Gestapo and imprisoned in the Pawiak prison, and on May 25 was transferred to
Auschwitz as prisoner #16670. In July 1941 a man from Kolbe's barracks
vanished, prompting the deputy camp commander to pick 10 men from the same
barracks to be starved to death in Block 13 (notorious for torture), in order
to deter further escape attempts. One of the selected men, Franciszek
Gajowniczek, cried out, lamenting his family, and Kolbe volunteered to take his
place. The guards accepted this move, and Francizek was spared and eventually
lived until the late 1990s. During the time in the cell St Maximilian 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 murdered with an
injection of carbolic acid.
No comments:
Post a Comment