St. Maximilian Kolbe

Feast Day: August 14
Patron of: Drug Addicts, Prisoners, Families,
and the Pro-life Movement

Young Maximilian Kolbe was so mischievous as a child that one day his mother blurted out, “What will become of you?” This struck him to the heart. At the age of 12, he had a vision of the Virgin Mary and asked her what was to become of him. She held two crowns: one white, representing purity, and one red, representing martyrdom. She asked if he would accept either of the crowns. He replied, “I choose both.” While in seminary to become a Polish Conventual Franciscan, he and some friends founded the Militia of the Immaculata (Army of Mary) in hopes to convert many souls to Mary’s entrustment as a path to Christ. During WWII, Maximilian was imprisoned in Auschwitz. When a young father was selected to be executed, Maximilian took the father’s place.