Who is Maximilian Kolbe?

By Father Luigi Faccenda, OFM Conv
Originally published as "1894-1994 Kolbean Centenary" Spes Nostra January-February 1994: 2. Print.

Mother Church officially proclaimed him to be a saint because he practiced all Christian virtues to a heroic degree. St. Maximilian is a man who, in the midst of our difficult century (1900's), loved his brethren, the Church, and Mary with an extraordinary intensity.

St. Maximilian loved all his brethren and in order to save them he offered his own life in place of a family
man's. He was then sent to the starvation bunker where the other condemned needed to receive comfort and strength and to be invited to forgive their oppressors before leaving this world of suffering. Lob before this final offering Maximilian said: "There are so many strayed and deceived souls enslaved by satan, who are suffering and do not realize their ignorance and spiritual misery. Extending a hand to all and leading all men to God through the Immaculata, our Queen, is a mission worth living, working, suffering, and even dying for. (God willing, as martyrs)."

That is why he became a journalist, a printer, a founder of two Cities consecrated to the Immaculata and why he travelled tirelessly in order to bring to all the "new" life of grace and communion with God through Mary.

St. Maximilian loved the Church and gave witness to her greatness and holiness, especially when he fearlessly professed his Catholic identity before the challenging Nazi officer: "I am a Catholic priest." Those words re-echo the profession of faith of the Apostles, Martyrs, and Saints who, not afraid of losing their lives, openly declared and lived their identity as children of the Church which Christ gave us as the means of salvation. St. Maximilian's entire life was indeed spent for the Church: his obedience, his theology, his missionary zeal, his Catholic and ecumenical spirit give witness to his passionate love for the Church.
Finally, Kolbe loved Our Lady, whom he had chosenas the way to Christ, the Source and Cause of our Redemption. He understood profoundly her mission and consecrated his whole life to Her in order to be led by her and to lead all to welcome her as their own mother.

This is the reason why I admire and love St. Maximilian Kolbe and why I confide in his heavenly protection. He has helped me to rediscover the true face of man, the Church, Mary, and Christ in this difficult 20th century.

If now I still find the strength to live and suffer, to give witness and work, it is because one day I met this man. He won me over to his cause; that is, the cause of charity, peace, hope, and fidelity to the Gospel.
Dear friends... let us receive the powerful message he hands on to us. Let us walk in his footsteps.


THE CELL OF LOVE IS ALWAYS OPEN