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St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe, a Franciscan friar who was murdered by the Nazis in Auschwitz, is one of the 20th century’s most notable saints.
But behind his trademark glasses, deep devotion to the Virgin Mary and stunning bravery in the hardest of times is a complicated figure — one whose story is the subject of the latest installment of legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese’s “The Saints,” streaming now on Fox Nation.
The future patron saint of prisoners, drug addicts and journalists was born in Poland on Jan. 8, 1894, as Raymund Kolbe, the second son of Julius Kolbe and Maria Dąbrowska.
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At the age of 9, the boy’s life took a dramatic turn when he experienced a vision of the Virgin Mary.
Kolbe told his mother that while praying to know how his life would play out, the Blessed Mother offered him the choice between two crowns: a white one symbolizing purity and a red one symbolizing martyrdom. The young Kolbe said he would take both crowns.
“I chose both,” he told his mother in the episode. “I had to.”
Maximilian Maria Kolbe experienced a vision of the Virgin Mary while praying as a child in this screengrab taken from “The Saints.” (Fox Nation)
Kolbe’s mother and father each joined religious orders – his mother the Benedictine sisters, his father the Franciscans in Krakow, Scorsese says in the show’s narration.
His father would eventually depart the Franciscans after the start of WWI and joined the Polish legions, Scorsese noted. Following the war, the family would learn that he had been hanged by the Russians.
At the age of 16, Kolbe adopted the religious name “Maximilian.”
Kolbe himself then joined the Conventual Franciscans, a Catholic religious order, studying in Lviv, a city that is now in Ukraine.
In 1910, at the age of 16, Kolbe adopted the religious name “Maximilian” upon entering the novitiate.
In 1914, Kolbe professed final vows, taking the name Br. Maximilian Maria Kolbe. He would be ordained a priest in 1918, at age 24, after studying in Rome.
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Devoted to the Virgin Mary, Kolbe founded the Militia Immaculatae in 1917, with the goal of converting sinners to Christianity through the intercession of the Blessed Mother, Scorsese said.
Kolbe returned to Poland after his ordination, taught at a seminary, operated a religious printing press and founded a publication, “The Knight of the Immaculata.”
“He traveled to Japan, established a mission, and then a seminary, in Nagasaki,” Scorsese said. “And he started a publication of the Japanese version of the Knight of the Immaculata.” He also spent time in India and founded a seminary there as well.
In 1933, Kolbe returned to Poland, the same year
Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany, Scorsese said. Catholic clergy were also subject to persecution, he said.
Kolbe (front row, middle) founded a monastery in Poland known as Niepokalanów. He and his brother friars ran several publications and a radio station from the monastery. (Laski Diffusion/Getty Images)
Kolbe caught tuberculosis, yet it did not slow down his evangelization work, Scorsese said.
Instead, Kolbe expanded his media network, which operated out of the monastery he founded, called Niepokalanów.
“In addition to his two publications, Kolbe founded the first Catholic radio station in Poland,” Scorsese said.
He got a ham radio license and had the call sign SP3RN.
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During World War II, after Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland, “Kolbe was arrested by the German army within weeks,” Scorsese said. “He was detained for three months.”
While detained, Niepokalanów was ransacked, “the new reality of life under Nazi occupation,” Scorsese added.
Despite the past promotion of anti-Semitic works through his radio station and publication, Kolbe himself encouraged others to see the humanity of their Jewish neighbors.
“He’s always your brother, no matter what his faith.”
In the episode, viewers see the encounter between Kolbe and his neighbor, Mrs. Haba. She asked Kolbe if it would be prudent for her to give her starving Jewish neighbors bread when they came to her.
Kolbe told her, “We must all remember that Jesus Christ, our Lord, was born a Jew. As was his Blessed Mother, the Immaculate. Mrs. Haba, when [a] man comes to you gloated in power, beware. When a man comes to you begging for food – he’s your brother. He’s always your brother, no matter what his faith, or his appearance. You must remember this.”
Maximilian Kolbe instructs Mrs. Haba to provide bread to those who are starving, regardless of their faith or appearance, in this screengrab taken from Fox Nation’s “The Saints.” (Fox Nation)
As the war continued, “Kolbe and his brethren sheltered and cared for over 3,000 displaced people, including 1,500 Jews,” Scorsese said.
Kolbe and some others were arrested by the Gestapo in Feb. 1941. They were first imprisoned at Pawiak, in Warsaw, where they were tortured, Scorsese said. In May, Kolbe was transferred to Auschwitz and given the prisoner number 16670.
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While in Auschwitz, Kolbe continued to act as a priest and was subject to harassment. He gained a positive reputation among other prisoners at Auschwitz.
In late July 1941, a prisoner went missing from camp and was assumed to have escaped.
“I’m a Catholic priest. I would like to take the place of this man.”
To replace the escaped prisoner, the Nazi guards picked 10 people out of a line and said they would be sent to a starvation chamber. One of those men – a Polish Catholic named Franciszek Gajowniczek – cried out that he had a wife and children. Kolbe volunteered to take his place, which the guard accepted.
“I’m a Catholic priest. I would like to take the place of this man,” Kolbe said.
Kolbe volunteered to die in the place of a man he did not know in this screengrab taken from “The Saints.” (Fox Nation)
“He has family, sir. I have no one. Please, I would like to die in place of this man,” he said.
While in the starvation bunker, Kolbe led the others in prayer. Eventually, they began to succumb to starvation and dehydration.
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After two weeks, on Aug. 14, Kolbe was still alive. The Nazi guards then killed him with an injection of carbolic acid.
Kolbe is seen dying in this screengrab taken from “The Saints.” (Fox Nation)
He was cremated the following day, the Feast of the Assumption of Mary.
Kolbe was beautified, the step before sainthood, in 1971, by Pope Paul VI. He was canonized on Oct. 10, 1982, by Pope St. John Paul II, Scorsese said.
Kolbe was given the titles of confessor and “martyr of charity,” fulfilling the promises he made to the Virgin Mary at age 9.
Gajowniczek, the man Kolbe saved, was present at both his beatification and canonization as a guest.
Franciszek Gajowniczek (center, being blessed by Pope Paul VI), whose life was saved by Kolbe, was present at Kolbe’s beatification and canonization. The future Pope St. John Paul II, who at the time was Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, archbishop of Krakow, is seen on the far right. (Wojtek Laski/Getty Images)
Fox Nation’s “The Saints” follows the lives and legacies of saints such as Maximilian Kolbe, who serve as examples of tenacity, courage and righteousness in the face of adversity.
For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle
The eight episodes explore the lives of Joan of Arc, John the Baptist, Sebastian, Maximilian Kolbe, Francis of Assisi, Thomas Becket, Mary Magdalene and Moses the Black — with Scorsese and his team journeying over 2,000 years of history to focus on these extraordinary figures and their extreme acts of kindness, selflessness and sacrifice.
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To watch weekly installments of “The Saints,” sign up for Fox Nation and begin streaming the series today. Fox Nation is offering a 3-month free trial with the promo code “SAINTS.”
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