St Maximilian Kolbe Biography Essay Example

earned a doctors degree for philosophy.

In 1919 he earned a doctors degree for theology at Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. The same year he officially became a priest. Between 1930 and 1936, Maximilian Kolbe traveled number of times to Japan. He supervised the construction of monastery near Nagasaki. In the new building he established a seminary for a new priests and printed Japanese catholic newspaper. Upon his return to Poland in 1936, Kolbe worked vigorously in his convent which soon became the biggest, catholic–publishing centre in the country. Auschwitz

During World War II, in his convent in Niepokalanow, near Warsaw, Kolbe provided shelter to refuges from Poland, including 2000 Jews, which he hid from deportation to Nazis concentration camps. On February 17th, 1941, he was arrested by German Gestapo Police and imprisoned in Warsaw. Later on May 28th, 1941, he was transferred to Auschwitz Concentration camp as a prisoner #16670. At the end of July 1941, three prisoners escaped from the camp so the camp commander picked 10 men to be starved to death to stop further escape attempts.

One of the picked men, Franciszek Gajowniczek, cried out:”My wife, my children! ” Kolbe took his place. In the starvation cell sympathetic guards gave him bread to be used as the Eucharist and materials, involving wine that can be used to celebrate masses each day. After two weeks of dehydration and starvation, only Kolbe remained alive. The Nazi guards wanted the bunker emptied, so they gave Kolbe lethal injection of carbon acid. The guards who were present, said that he raised his left arm and calmly waited for injection.

Maximilian Kolbe

died on August 14th, 1941. Canonization Father Kolbe was beatified by Pope Paul VI in 1967 at St. Peter Basilica, Rome, Italy. He was canonized as a martyr by Pope John Paul II on October 10th, 1982 with Franciszek Gajowniczek in attendance. Maximilian Kolbe Feast Day is celebrated on August 14th and he is patron saint of drug addicts, families, journalists, prisoners, amateur radio operators and pro-life movement. The Blessed Virgin Mary was always strongly presented in his life and is recognized as a symbol of his unconditional devotion.