21 Facts about Saint Maximilian Kolbe

Today, August 14, is the feast day of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, a saint whose life was full of difficulties and sufferings, yet he continued to pursue and fulfill his vocation as a priest.  St. Maximilian Kolbe was devoted to our Blessed Virgin Mary throughout his entire life and even up until his horrific death. 

The Franciscans of the Immaculate’s website for this inspiring saint explains that “only a saint can stand firm, with constancy and unwavering hope, throughout life’s many difficulties and sufferings.  Only a saint can influence others to do the same, because only a saint knows that true and perfect peace is found in God alone. For the saint, trials don’t weaken, they fortify. Serenity and calmness amidst atrocities are not a sign of defeat but of victory, for love is greater than hatred!”

As tomorrow is the feast day of the Assumption of our Blessed Virgin Mary, here are some of the most fascinating facts about the life of one of her most devout saints, St. Maximilian Kolbe:

1. Raymund Kolbe was born on January 8, 1894, in Poland.
2. St. Maximilian Kolbe was very active in promoting the Immaculate Virgin Mary.
3. He is known as the Apostle of Consecration to Mary.
4. St. Maximilian Kolbe’s dedication to our Blessed Virgin Mary is said to be attributed to his mother who recited the Angelus, the Holy Rosary, and the Litany to Our Lady daily.
5. He had a vision of our Blessed Virgin Mary when he was 12.
6. “Our Lady showed him two crowns: one red, the other white. When asked to choose which he preferred, he chose both: to remain pure and undivided in his love for God and the Blessed Virgin, and to be a martyr.”*
7. At the age of 21, St. Maximilian Kolbe earned a doctorate in philosophy.
8. By the age of 28, St. Maximilian Kolbe would also earn a doctorate in theology.
9. He founded monasteries in Poland and in both Japan and India.
10. During WWII, he provided shelter for refugees and hid 2,000 Jews.
11. St. Maximilian Kolbe’s publishing house issued many anti-Nazi German publications.
12. After his monastery was shut down, he was arrested by the German Gestapo and taken to the Pawiak prison and eventually transferred to Auschwitz.
13. During this time, St. Maximilian Kolbe was subjected to beatings and other ill-treatment.
14. A fellow prisoner who had tried to escape and would be punished by starving to death, cried out he had a wife and children and St. Maximilian Kolbe volunteered and took his place.
15. Out of the 10 who were selected to be starved to death in an underground bunker, St. Maximilian Kolbe was the last left alive after two weeks of starvation and dehydration.
16. He was then killed by an injection of carbolic acid.  It is said that he calmly waited for the needle, raising his arm.
17. Throughout these struggles, St. Maximilian Kolbe never abandoned his priesthood.
18. St. Maximilian Kolbe died on August 14 and his remains were cremated on August 15, the feast day of the Assumption of Mary.
19. Saint Pope John Paul II visited St. Maximilian Kolbe’s death chamber in Auschwitz in 1979, and there proclaimed him “Patron Saint of our Difficult Age.”
20. St. Maximilian Kolbe was canonized as saint by Saint Pope John Paul II in 1982.
21. St. Maximillian Kolbe is the patron saint of families, prisoners, journalists, political prisoners, drug addicts and the pro-life movement. ​

​As always, thank you for reading.  God bless you and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always!

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Sources:

1. Catholic Online. "St. Maximilian Kolbe - Saints & Angels." Catholic Online. Catholic Online. Web. 14 Aug. 2017.
2. St. Maximilian Kolbe | Franciscans of the Immaculate. "Biography." St. Maximilian Kolbe. Web. 14 Aug. 2017.
3. Woods, Mark. "10 powerful quotes from Maximilian Kolbe, the priest who gave his life in Auschwitz." Christian News on Christian Today. Christian Today, 14 Aug. 2015. Web. 14 Aug. 2017.

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