William Woods Period 8

Explain the major parts of Maximilian Kolbe’s life and explain why he became canonized a saint. I will also give you my opinion on his canonization. Hope you enjoy.

Maximilian Kolbe was born as Rajmund Kolbe on January 8, 1894 His father, Julius Kolbe, was German; his mother, Maria, was Polish. He also had four other brothers (five in total, he was the second oldest). Their names were Francis Kolbe, Joseph Kolbe, Walenty Kolbe, and Andrew Kolbe.

As a young child, Kolbe claimed he had a vision of the Virgin Mary. He described the vision as this: “That night, I asked the Mother of God what was to become of me. Then she came to me holding two crowns, one white, the other red. She asked me if I was willing to accept either of these crowns. The white one meant that I should persevere in purity, and the red that I should become a martyr. I said that I would accept them both.” Later in his life, as an adult, Kolbe said that the vision he had as a child strongly influenced his life.

In 1907, Kolbe and his older brother Francis decided to join the Conventual Franciscans in Lwow. He made his first vows on September 5, 1911, taking the name Maximilian. In 1912, he went to a college in Rome where he studied philosophy, theology, mathematics, and physics. On November 1, 1914, he took his final vows and the name Maria, to show his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. His full name was now Rajmund Maximilian Maria Kolbe.

In 1918, Kolbe was ordained a priest. In 1919, he returned to the newly independent Poland. Here, he promoted the admiration of the Immaculate Virgin Mary and then founded the monastery of Niepokalanow, a seminary, and even a radio station. From 1922 to 1927, Kolbe spent most of his time supervising the monastery.

Then from 1930 to 1936, Kolbe took a series of missions to Japan. In Japan, he founded a monastery on the outskirts of Nagasaki, a Japanese paper, and a seminary. The monastery he founded remains prominent in the Roman Catholic Church in Japan. Kolbe decided to build the monastery on a mountainside that, according to Shinto beliefs, was not the side best suited to be in harmony with nature. When the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Kolbe’s monastery was saved because the other side of the mountain took the main force of the blast.

During World War II, Kolbe provided a shelter to refugees. He also worked as a radio announcer bashing the acts of the Nazis. On February 17, 1941, he was arrested by the German Gestapo and imprisoned in the Pawiak prison. On May 28, 1941, he was transferred to Auschwitz as prisoner #16670.

In July 1941, a man from Kolbe’s barracks vanished (the man was later found drowned in the camp latrine), This prompted Schutzstaffel (SS) Hauptstrumfuhrer Karl Fritzsch, the deputy commander of that camp, to pick ten men from the same barracks to be starved to death in Block 13 in order to put a stop to further escape attempts. One of the ten men selected to die, Franciszek Gajowniczek, began to exclaim: “My wife! My children! I will never see them again!” As Kolbe heard this, he stepped forward and asked to die in his place. The Nazi soldiers allowed Kolbe to die instead of Gajowniczek.

In Block 13, he celebrated Mass every day until his death. He led the other condemned men in song and prayer, most of them being hymns to the Virgin Mary. After three weeks of dehydration and starvation, only Kolbe and three others remained alive. He encouraged others by telling them that they would soon be with Mary in Heaven. When Kolbe was the last survivor, he was killed with an injection of carbolic acid. His remains were cremated on August 15, 1941; also known as the feast of the Assumption of Mary.

Kolbe was beatified as a Confessor of Faith by Pope Paul VI in 1971 and canonized as a martyr by Pope John Paul II on October 10, Franciszek Gajowniczek (the man he saved) attended his canonization. His recognition as a martyr created some controversy within the Church. People stated that while his ultimate self-sacrifice of his life was most certainly saintly and heroic, he was not killed out of hatred for his faith but as a result of an act of Christian charity; thus technically making him not legible to become known as a martyr. Pope John Paul II, however, still canonized him as an official martyr because he viewed the Nazis as “evil”. He said that “[they] created an atmosphere that by its very nature and act was overtly hostile to religious belief, intrinsically against any respect for life, and averse to any moral values”.

After his canonization, Kolbe’s feast day was included in the Roman Catholic Calendar used by most of the Catholic churches. The first monument to Kolbe was in Poland. He is one of ten 20 th Century martyrs who are depicted as statues above the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey, London. He is the Patron Saint of drug addicts, families, journalists, prisoners, amateur radio, and the pro-life movement. Pope John Paul II also declared him "The Patron Saint of Our Difficult Century”

I believe that Kolbe should not have been canonized as a martyr. I agree with the people who said that he did not die because of his religion but because of his own choice. I think he should be recognized as doing a greatly heroic and kind thing, but once again, it was because of his own choice.

1.Saints on Earth: A Biographical Companion to Common Worship By John H. Darch & Stuart K. Burns Published by Church House Publishing,