Saint Maximilian Kolbe
Zdunska Wola, Poland · 1894-1941
The Marian saint who devoted his life to the Virgin Mary and died in Auschwitz.
His life
Maximilian Maria Kolbe was born on January 8, 1894 in Zdunska Wola, Poland. At the age of 16, I entered the Franciscan order and took the name Maximilian Mary.
Her Marian devotion
I founded the "Militia Immaculatae" (Militia of the Immaculate) in 1917, an organization dedicated to the conversion of the world through the Virgin Mary. Monasteries cover in Poland, Japan and India.
His martyrdom
In 1941, he was arrested by the Nazis and sent to Auschwitz. When a prisoner with a family was sentenced to death, Kolbe offered to die instead. He died on August 14, 1941, injected with carbolic acid.
His canonization
He was canonized by Pope John Paul II on October 10, 1982. He is the patron saint of addicts, political prisoners, and the media.
"All that I am and all that I have belongs to the Immaculate."