On August 14, the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Maximilian Kolbe — a man whose life shows us the radical, Christ-like love that “lays down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).
Born in Poland in 1894, Raymond Kolbe felt a deep calling to the priesthood from a young age. After joining the Conventual Franciscans, he took the name Maximilian and devoted himself to spreading devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Through the Militia Immaculata, which he founded, Fr. Kolbe inspired countless souls to grow closer to Christ through Mary’s intercession.
His missionary zeal carried him far — even to Japan, where he established a monastery near Nagasaki that would survive the atomic blast. Yet his most enduring witness came in the darkness of a Nazi concentration camp. Arrested for sheltering refugees, Fr. Kolbe was sent to Auschwitz in 1941.
There, a fellow prisoner — a husband and father — was condemned to die in a starvation cell. Moved with compassion, Fr. Kolbe stepped forward and offered to take his place. Over two weeks of starvation and abuse, he comforted and prayed with the other prisoners, a beacon of peace amid unimaginable suffering. On August 14, 1941, he was executed by lethal injection.
Pope Saint John Paul II canonized him in 1982, calling him “the patron saint of our difficult century.” Today, Saint Maximilian Kolbe remains a powerful intercessor for those facing persecution, oppression, and despair. His courage reminds us that love is stronger than hate, and faith is stronger than fear.
On his feast day, let us ask for his intercession — that we may live with such selfless love and trust in God, ready to give ourselves for the good of others.
Saint Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us.
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