Saint Maximilian Kolbe
Feast Day: August 14
Maximilian Kolbe was born in Poland in 1894. Although his family was very poor, they were rich in spirit. A likely candidate for the seminary, Maximilian was ordained a priest in 1918.
After studying in Rome, Maximilian returned to Poland in 1919. He utilized modern printing and business principles to spread the Gospel. By 1939, his evangelical center printed a successful daily newspaper that reached 230,000 readers and a monthly magazine that reached more than one million readers. He was considered a true apostle of the mass media.
In 1941, Maximilian was arrested by the Nazis and sent to Auschwitz concentration camp. There he offered his life in exchange for the life of Francis Gahowniczek, a husband and father. Francis had just been condemned along with nine other prisoners to starve to death in an underground bunker. The execution of ten prisoners was the brutal punishment meted out by the commandant whenever a prisoner escaped or attempted to escape from Auschwitz.
On October 10, 1982, Pope John Paul II canonized Maximilian Kolbe as a “martyr of charity.” Present at the ceremony was Francis Gahowniczek, the Auschwitz prisoner in whose place Maximilian had given his own life.
Connecting to Faith First® Legacy Edition
Grade 6, chapter 13
Connecting to Faith First®
Grade 4, chapter 23