St. Maximilian Kolbe

St. Maximilian Kolbe was born in 1894 at Zdunska Wola, Poland, as Raymond Kolbe. On September 4, 1910, he became a novice in the Conventual Franciscan Order. He took the name Maximilian, made his first vows on September 5, 1911, and took his final vows on November 1, 1914.

Maximilian Kolbe died as prisoner 16670 in Auschwitz, on August 14, 1941. When a prisoner escaped from the camp, the Nazis selected 10 others to be killed by starvation in reprisal for the escape.

One of the 10 selected to die, Franciszek Gajowniczek, began to cry: "My wife! My children! I will never see them again!" At this Father Kolbe stepped forward and asked to die in his place. His request was granted.

As the ten condemned men were led off to the Death Block of Building 13, Father Kolbe supported a fellow prisoner who could hardly walk. No one would emerge alive; Father Kolbe was the last to die. His body was burned in the ovens and his ashes were scattered.

St. Maximilian is a patron of drug addicts and political prisoners. His Feast Day is August 14.