The Childhood of Saint Maximilian Kolbe

Saint Maximilian Kolbe was born Raymond Kolbe on January 8, 1894, in Zduńska-Wola, Poland. Raymond came into the world when Poland was no longer a country on the map, having been partitioned between Russia, Austria, and Prussia. He was the second oldest of five boys born to Julius and Maria Kolbe. They were weavers who struggled to make ends meet. The problems in Poland strengthened the Kolbe family’s faith. They held tightly to their Polish identity. Raymond had been taught to have a very strong devotion to Mary, Queen of Poland, at Czestochowa. He and his brothers prayed the Angelus, the Rosary, and the Litany to Our Lady every day. It was through his devotion to Mary, the Immaculata, he eventually became known as Maximilian. He would eventually grow up to be known by the Nazi soldiers as “Prisoner 16670” in Auschwitz.

Raymond’s family moved a lot to find work so that they could afford to send his older brother Francis to school. By the time Raymond was six they had already lived in several cities. Raymond was very friendly and active as a boy, sometimes unruly. He put a strain on his mother. He was very easygoing, however, and had a good heart. Raymond even taught himself how to cook some very inventive recipes while looking after his younger brothers. When Raymond was 10 his brother Anthony died at age four, and this impacted him.

Two years later, Raymond’s mother said to him in frustration, “My little son, I don’t know what’s going to become of you!” This hurt Raymond very much.

Praying to the Virgin Mary to Know His Vocation

He went to the altar in their house to pray very hard to the Virgin Mary, asking her what would become of him. He again prayed to her in the church beneath the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa. Mary appeared to him holding a white crown and a red crown. The Virgin asked if Raymond was willing to accept either of these crowns. The white one meant that he would persevere in purity, and the red one meant that he would become a martyr. Raymond told the Blessed Mother he would accept them both.

A Miracle Comes

After this, a miracle happened that made it possible for Raymond to go to seminary. Raymond’s mother sent him to the pharmacy to pick up something for her. She needed a powder known as “vincon greca” in Latin. Raymond’s knowledge of Latin impressed the pharmacist. As they chatted he realized Raymond was unable to afford school, and thought it was a terrible shame. This kind and generous man decided to tutor Raymond for free so he could pass the exams that were needed to be accepted into the seminary school, and Raymond did pass! The following year Raymond left home with his older brother to enroll in the Conventual Franciscan seminary. It was in the part of former Poland that was now in Austria-Hungary, so the boys had to illegally cross the border to get there. When Raymond was 16 he was given the religious name Maximilian and was admitted as an initiate. He took his final vows as a monk in 1914, at the age of 20. This was the same year his father died.

Studying in Rome

Maximilian spent a little time in Krakow, Poland before being chosen to study in Rome to become a priest. In 1915, St. Maximilian Kolbe earned a Doctor of Philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University. Just four years later he earned another Doctor of Theology from the University of Saint Bonaventure. It was at this time that he first suffered from tuberculosis, and this gave him poor health for the rest of his life, but he never complained about it. He just offered up his sufferings for Mary, for the salvation of souls.

In 1917 Fr. Maximilian founded the “Army of the Immaculate One.” This is a worldwide Catholic evangelization organization also known as the Militia Immaculatae, or M.I. It is open to all Catholics and their mission is to have a special devotion to the Virgin Mary to pray for the conversion of sinners.

Becoming a Priest

Fr. Maximilian was ordained a priest in 1919 and returned to the now independent Poland to work in a monastery near Warsaw. Soon Fr. Maximilian became superior of the “City of Mary Immaculate” and director of Poland’s chief Catholic publishing house. His work in media communications didn’t end there.

Building a Monastery in Japan

St. Maximilian Kolbe also founded a monastery in Nagasaki, Japan in 1930. He went by ship to Japan in March of that year, by the direction of the Virgin Mary, who he had consecrated his entire life to, his body and all he possessed. When he was in Japan looking for a site to build his monastery, he wrote how the Virgin directed his steps. At her request, he built the monastery on the side of the mountain that the locals believed was not the best side. But he trusted Mary. When the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, just 4 years after Kolbe’s death, the monastery he founded was miraculously saved. The bomb’s blast ended up hitting the other side of the mountain. Had he listened to the others when choosing the site his monastery would have been destroyed that day.

Arrested by the Nazis

In 1938 he started a radio station. This angered the Nazis, and they arrested him in 1939 for his anti-Nazism. But they later released him. St. Maximilian Kolbe’s deep love for the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary led him to help hide and care for thousands of Polish refugees. Most of them were Jewish. He and his friars shared everything with their refugee guests, housing them and giving them both food and clothing. Inevitably, the community came under suspicion and was watched closely. During this time he continued to publish anti-Nazi publications.

St. Maximilian Kolbe was arrested again in February 1941 with charges that he was aiding Jews. He was first imprisoned in Warsaw but he didn’t stay there.
They soon sent him to the Auschwitz concentration camp. He did not despair while imprisoned there. St. Maximilian Kolbe heard confessions, held Mass with smuggled bread, and endured many beatings by the guards.

Choosing the Red Crown

One day a prisoner escaped, and as a punishment one of the guard’s chose 10 random men to die as punishment. On this day St. Maximilian Kolbe chose the red crown of martyrdom and volunteered his life in the place of a married man with young children named Franciszek Gajowniczek. St. Maximilian Kolbe and nine additional prisoners were put in a holding cell to be starved to death. St. Maximilian Kolbe led these men bravely in prayer and song as they awaited death. After nearly two weeks of intense sufferings, Kolbe was killed by an injection of carbolic acid on August 14, 1941, the night before the Solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady into Heaven.

On October 10, 1982, John Paul II proclaimed him a Saint, as a Martyr of Charity.

St. Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us!
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!