Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Martyr of Charity,St Maxilian Kolbe (Auschwitz Camp)

One of several saints who died in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp was a priest,Father Maximilian Kolbe. Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish priest who died as prisoner 16670 in Auschwitz, on August 14, 1941. When a prisoner escaped from the camp, the Nazis selected 10 others to be killed by starvation in reprisal for the escape.enduring two weeks of starvation, thirst, and neglect. He was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1982. One of the 10 selected to die, Franciszek Gajowniczek, began to cry: "My wife! My children! I will never see them again!" At this Father Kolbe stepped forward and asked to die in his place - his request was granted. As the ten condemned men were led off to the death Block of Building 13, Father Kolbe supported a fellow prisoner who could hardly walk. No one would emerge alive - Father Kolbe was the last to die enduring two weeks of starvation, thirst, and neglect.

Maximilian was born in 1894 in Poland and became a Franciscan. He contracted tuberculosis and, though he recovered, he remained frail all his life. Before his ordination as a priest, Maximilian founded the Immaculata Movement devoted to Our Lady. After receiving a doctorate in theology, he spread the Movement through a magazine entitled "The Knight of the Immaculata" and helped form a community of 800 men, the largest in the world.

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Due to Kolbe's efforts to promote consecration and entrustment to Mary, he is known as the Apostle of Consecration to Mary. Blessed John Paul II declared him a martyr of charity. He is the patron saint of drug addicts, political prisoners, families, journalists, prisoners, and the pro-life movement.Pope John Paul II declared him "The Patron Saint of Our Difficult Century".

Source:http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=370

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