Three prisoners had escaped. Concentration Camp Deputy, Karl Fritzsch, began rounding up prisoners forcing them to line up shoulder to shoulder as he screamed that he was going to make an example out of them. One by one he selected 10 men, they were sentenced to death by starvation in an underground bunker. The final man picked, Franciszek Gajowniczek, broke down screaming “My wife! My children!" If he went down to the bunker, Franciszek knew he would never see them again. The Deputy didn’t flinch at Franciszek’s wailing.

Suddenly, a man stepped out from the lines without being called. To the Officers he was prisoner 16670 but to his fellow prisoners, he was Father Kolbe. The Deputy glared at Kolbe both confused and intrigued by his sudden insubordination.

“What do you want?” the Deputy barked as he approached Kolbe.

Fr. Kolbe replied, “Take me instead.” While pointing at a distraught Franciszek.

Now standing nose to nose, the Deputy questioned Kolbe again, “Who are you?”

“I’m a Catholic priest” Kolbe replied to a now silent camp.

“Fine.”

The Deputy motioned to his guards to let Franciszek go and detain Kolbe instead. As Franciszek rejoined the spared prisoners, Kolbe was ushered away along with nine other men. The atmosphere had shifted in the camp that day. As word of Fr. Kolbe’s sacrifice spread, Auchwitz was infused with something the prisoners thought they’d never feel again - hope.

Why Rewind

St. Maximilian Kolbe’s story is a pretty well known one. This single act of courage garnered him names such as, Martyr of Charity and Saint of Auchwitz. Like many great people, and many great Saints before him, Kolbe’s final moments seem overshadow the rest of his life…the moments that led to his sacrifice. Most devout Catholics know about Kolbe’s death, but few know about Kolbe’s life.

Fr. Kolbe exercised tremendous courage at the end of his life, but courage like his isn’t accidental or innate. Courage like that is built by grace over time. If we want to emulate the courage that Kolbe displayed we would do well in learning a bit more about what led up to that final confrontation with death.

Where did Kolbe’s virtue come from? And how can we possess that kind virtue too? That is why Saint Maximilian Kolbe deserves a Saint Life Rewind.

Two Crowns

Before he was St. Maximilian Kolbe he went by Raymond Kolbe. At the age of 12, young Raymond had a vision of Mary while in prayer. In the vision Kolbe later reported that Mary offered him two crowns. In her hands Our Lady held a white crown, which Kolbe understood to represent purity, and a red crown representing martyrdom.

He accepted both crowns and a year later joined the Franciscan Conventuals. Kolbe learned from an early age that he had a deeper calling than anything the world could offer. His devotion to God and the Blessed Mother only grew in intimacy and intensity from this moment.

Knights of the Immaculata

While studying in Rome, Kolbe founded a movement within the Church known as the Militia of the Immaculata. This movement spread a special devotion to Mary known as Marian Consecration. Kolbe charged ahead with this movement; he made sure it was clear that this special devotion as a way of growing closer to Jesus through a relationship with his mother.

He returned to Poland after his studies and ordination to establish a mission for evagelization dedicated to the Immaculata (Mary). He also went on to establish a mission in Mugenzai no Sono, Japan.

When Kolbe decided to do something he jumped in with both feet. He was a committed man and follower. He named his movement a Militia because he knew he was part of a war. This was years before WWII. Kolbe knew that there was a war against evil in the world and he saw himself as a Knight fighting under the patronage of Mary.

During Kolbe’s canonization, Pope St John Paul II would proclaim,

“The inspiration of his whole life was the Immaculata. To her he entrusted his love for Christ and his desire for martyrdom.
The faith and works of the whole life of Father Maximilian show that he thought of his cooperation with divine grace as a warfare under the banner of the Immaculate Conception.” (Oct 10, 1982)

Courage

The Nazis invaded Poland in 1939 and Kolbe was arrested that same year. Kolbe and his brothers could have attempted to flee, or at least they could have done their best to keep a low profile following their release, to avoid further arrests.

But St. Maximilian Kolbe had courage. He and the brothers stayed and used the mission center in Poland as a shelter for nearly 2000 Jewish refugees. Additionally, he continued to publish anti-Nazi publications, despite near certainty of his arrest. Kolbe demonstrated enormous virtue in the face of one of the greatest evils our work has ever experienced.

His courage was unstoppable and his faith unshakable. Inevitably, in February of 1941, Father Kolbe was arrested and sent to Warsaw.

Later he was transferred to Auchwitz.

Saint

Saint Maximilian Kolbe’s life was marked by prayer, devotion, and virtue. The virtue he possessed in his final moments was not spontaneous.

Kolbe pursued virtue, by pursuing God without reservation. He imitated Jesus to the point of sacrificing himself for another without counting the cost. That is why St. John Paul saw Kolbe’s death as a victory.

“And in this human death of his there was the clear witness borne to Christ: the witness borne in Christ to the dignity of man, to the sanctity of his life, and to the saving power of death in which the power of love is made manifest.”

I pray that when our moment comes we all possess the type of virtue Kolbe did, and that quest can begin today.

Saint Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us.

Verso L’alto - Renzo