Maximillian Kolbe, Franciscan Monk from Niepokalanów, the Saint from Auschwitz
Eighty-three years ago, on July 29, 1941, Franciscan friar Maximilian Kolbe volunteered to die in place of fellow inmate Franciszek Gajowniczek at Auschwitz. Kolbe, imprisoned since May 1941, had endured harsh labor and declining health. His act of self-sacrifice came after ten inmates were condemned to death by starvation in retaliation for an escape from the camp.
Despite two weeks of agony, Kolbe survived, only to be lethally injected on August 14, 1941. His parting words to a fellow inmate, “Hatred is not a creative force. Love is,” echo his enduring legacy. Kolbe was beatified in 1971 and canonized in 1982, becoming the first Polish martyr of World War II to be honored in this way. Today, Auschwitz stands as a somber reminder of the atrocities committed, with Kolbe’s story shining as a beacon of hope and humanity amid darkness.