Maximilian Kolbe, martyr and child of Mary

On August 14, 2026, the Catholic Church commemorated Saint Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish Franciscan priest and martyr who gave his life in the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. The day marks the anniversary of his death, which occurred under harrowing circumstances in 1941. Kolbe's story has become one of the most profound testimonies of Christian love amid Nazi persecution. In the Auschwitz camp, he voluntarily stepped forward to take the place of another prisoner condemned to die by starvation, sacrificing his life in the process. Maximilian Kolbe was born on January 7, 1894, in Zdunska Wola, Poland, into a poor working-class family. At seventeen, he joined the Franciscan order and was given the opportunity to study in Rome due to his exceptional talents. He attended the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Gregorian University, and earned his doctorate. While in Rome, he founded a spiritual movement called the Militia Immaculatae, The Army of the Immaculate, which aimed to spread faith and devotion to the Virgin Mary. After returning to Poland in 1922, Kolbe dedicated himself intensively to apostolic work through media. He established newspapers and other publications and became one of the pioneers in using modern communication tools to spread the Gospel. His missionary journey later took him to Japan, where he spent six years continuing his work and spreading Marian spirituality primarily through printed materials. He returned to Poland in 1936. Following the German occupation of Poland in 1939, Kolbe’s public activities and opposition to Nazism quickly drew the attention of occupying authorities. He was arrested for the first time in 1940 and sent to the Oranienburg camp, but was released shortly after. A few months later, he was arrested again and this time sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp, from which he did not return. In the summer of 1941, a prisoner escaped from Kolbe’s block. As a form of retaliation, the Nazis selected ten prisoners to be starved to death. Among them was Franciszek Gajowniczek, a man and father who began despairingly speaking of his family upon thinking of death. At that moment, Kolbe stepped forward and asked to die in his place. His offer was accepted. Prayers echoed from the cell Kolbe and the others were locked in a starvation bunker. Witnesses later recalled hearing prayers and singing instead of despair and cursing coming from the cell. After approximately two weeks, Kolbe was still alive. On August 14, 1941, a camp guard killed him with a phenol injection. The man for whom Kolbe gave his life survived Auschwitz. Franciszek Gajowniczek lived long enough to witness the moment when the Church declared his rescuer a saint. John Paul II: martyr of love Kolbe’s story was especially close to his fellow countryman Karol Wojtyła, later Pope John Paul II. As the cardinal of Kraków, he was present at Kolbe’s canonization in 1971. Eleven years later, on October 10, 1982, Pope John Paul II proclaimed Kolbe a saint at St. Peter’s Square. The elderly Franciszek Gajowniczek attended the ceremony with his family. John Paul II described Saint Maximilian Kolbe as a martyr of love, a man who, amidst a system built on hatred and devaluation of human life, responded with the highest form of love: giving his own life for another. A saint known even to Slovenians The life and spirituality of Saint Maximilian Kolbe are well known in Slovenia as well. Several works have been published in the Slovenian language about him, including The Power of Love, The Saint in the Camp, the novel Pelican, and books such as Everyone Has Their Own Path and The Secret of Two Crowns. His testimony remains particularly powerful because of the circumstances in which he made his decision. In an environment where human life had almost no value, he showed that it is possible to respond to hatred with love and to give one’s own life for another. Kolbe’s life story continues to inspire many around the world, serving as a reminder of the power of self-sacrifice and compassion in the face of extreme adversity. His legacy endures through the countless lives touched by his example of unwavering faith and love.