Saint Kolbe
Patron Saint of Drug Addicts, Families, and Prisoners.
Basics
Saint Kolbe studied theology at Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, the years 1907 through 1912. St Kolbe was ordained in 1918 by a priest. When he was ordained he returned to Poland, and established The Roman Catholic Periodical, also known as The Knight of Mary the Immaculate. In 1927 he also founded The City of Mary the Immaculate, which is a religious community that gathered around 700 workers and peope with religious occupations. Kolbe then became a higher up of The City of Mary Immaculate, and also the director of Poland’s chief Catholic Publishing company. He also protested against the Nazi’s, but was then arrested because of said protesting in 1939. He was let out of jail, but was then arrested again in February. This time he was arrested for helping the Jews and the Polish underground. He was imprisoned at Warsaw, but then taken to Auschwitz, where he volunteered his life to the place of the fellow prisoner Franciszek Gajowniczek.
Early Life
Saint Maksymilian Maria Kolbe was born January 8, 1894 in Zduńska Wola, Poland. He was born Rajmond Kolbe, then later changed his name to Maksymilian. When he was young, he was a very mischievous child. Once when he was 12, he had been scolded yet again by his mother. After that day, he suddenly became a good child, who never misbehaved. He says, “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.” As a young child, he contracted tuberculosis, and almost died from it, causing him to remain frail the entirety of his life. His mother and father chose religious vocations after all their kids were in seminaries, causing Kolbe to throw away his dreams of being a soldier.
Misc.
Kolbe also studied philosophy. He was actually arrested two times by the State Secret Police (Gestapo.) Kolbe was canonized as a Saint by Pope John Paul II, who also said that Saint Kolbe was to be additionally honored as a martyr. Auschwitz was the largest Nazi Germany concentration camp, which was also three camps together, an extermination camp (Where victims were killed) a prison camp, and a slave labor camp. His feast day is August 14th. The inmate that he replaced was going to be killed as an example of what happens when people escape.
Kolbe in Prison Uniform
Portrait of Saint Kolbe
A Quote of Saint Kolbe
Bibliography
"Auschwitz (concentration Camp, Poland)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2014.
"Gestapo (Nazi Political Police)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2014.
"Maximilian Kolbe." Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2014.
"Saint Maksymilian Maria Kolbe (Polish Martyr)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2014.
"Saints.SQPN.com." SaintsSQPNcom RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2014.
"St Maximilian Kolbe." Saint Maximilian Kolbe. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2014.
"St. Maximilian Kolbe - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online." St. Maximilian Kolbe - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2014
"The Story of St Maximilian Kolbe." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
Pictures
Kolbe Quote. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web.
Monastary Icons: Kolbe. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web.
Saintmaxkolbe. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web.