He was a Polish Franciscan priest, completely dedicated to Our Lady, who founded the Militia of the Immaculata to convert sinners, heretics and especially enemies of the Church. The Marytown friary he set up in Poland and devoted to publishing grew to be the largest in the world. Saint Maximilian was an apostle of the Miraculous Medal of Our Lady. He died in the concentration camp at Auschwitz on August 14, 1941, having voluntarily taken the place of a prisoner who was condemned to death. He once said, “One day, you will see the statue of the Immaculata in the center of Moscow atop the Kremlin.”
See also our longer biographical article: “Saint Maximilian Kolbe.”
Saint Maximilian Kolbe, third from the right in front
