Today is the feast day of the Polish Franciscan priest St. Maximilian Kolbe, the "martyr of Auschwitz." In the 20s and 30s he had founded a worldwide movement, the "Knights of Mary Immaculate" which made him a prime target of the Nazis when they overran Poland. The Nazis saw in his newspapers, magazines, and popularity a threat to their power so he was rounded up along with other Polish intellectuals and sent to Auschwitz. After a prisoner escaped, the enraged Nazis held a death lottery. randomly choosing inmates who would be cruelly starved to death as retribution for the escape. When one of the prisoners chosen was a young Jewish father, Kolbe stepped forward and offered to take his place. When asked "Who are you"? He replied simply "I am a priest" He and the others were locked in a cell and left to starve to death. Kolbe was the last to die, on August 14. St. Maximilan Mary Kolbe, pray for us!
Posted on: Wed, 14 Aug 2013 13:02:39 +0000
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