13/08/2026
AUGUST 14 2026 | FRIDAY OF THE 19TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Memorial of St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe
Today we honor Saint Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish Conventual Franciscan priest, brilliant scholar, and courageous martyr of Auschwitz whose life demonstrated the ultimate triumph of love over hatred.
As a young boy of 12, Maximilian received a vision of the Virgin Mary offering him two crowns: a white one for purity and a red one for martyrdom. He boldly accepted both. Driven by his deep devotion to Our Lady, he founded the Militia Immaculata (Army of the Immaculate One) and built massive publishing networks and monasteries in Poland and Japan to share the Gospel.
When World War II broke out, Fr. Kolbe transformed his monastery into a refuge, sheltering thousands of refugees—including over 2,000 Jews—and publishing anti-Nazi works. Arrested by the Gestapo in 1941, he was eventually sent to Auschwitz.
In July 1941, when a prisoner escaped, guards selected ten men to starve to death in retribution. Fr. Kolbe stepped forward and offered his own life to take the place of a husband and father. In the starvation bunker, he led his fellow prisoners in prayers and hymns to Our Lady, radiating calm until his martyrdom on August 14, 1941.
In our own daily lives, how can we step forward to show sacrificial love and stand up for those who are suffering or vulnerable?
St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe, pray for us!
