On January 8, 1894, in a poor Polish village, a boy named Rajmund Kolbe was born!

(Rajmund is "Raymond" in Polish!)

Poland was suffering! It was occupied by foreign powers!

It had no freedom! No independence!

Rajmund's family was very poor! But very Catholic!

Dad was a weaver! Mom helped! They had five sons!

They lived with difficulty! But with faith!

The Mischievous Boy

Rajmund was a very mischievous boy!

He ran! He jumped! He fought! He made trouble!

Mom sometimes got desperate!

"Rajmund, what will become of you?" she sighed worriedly.

The boy was intelligent! But very energetic! Hard to control!

It seemed he would be a problem...

But God had extraordinary plans for him!

The Vision of Our Lady

One day, when Rajmund was 10 years old, something extraordinary happened!

Mom had scolded him harshly for some mischief!

She said: "Rajmund, what will become of you?"

The boy was very impressed by this question!

He went to church! He knelt before Our Lady's statue!

He prayed crying: "Mother of Heaven, what will become of me?"

And then Our Lady appeared to him!

She was most beautiful! Full of light!

She held two crowns: one white and one red!

The white represented purity! The red represented martyrdom!

Our Lady asked: "Which do you choose?"

Rajmund, without hesitating, responded: "I choose both!"

Our Lady smiled! She accepted! And disappeared!

Rajmund returned home transformed!

He never told anyone (at that time) about the vision!

But he changed completely!

From mischievous, he became serious! Devout! Obedient!

He prayed for hours! He studied! He helped at home!

Mom was impressed: "What happened to Rajmund?"

Only years later would he tell about the vision!

And they would understand: Our Lady called him to be pure and a martyr!

And he would be both!

Entering the Convent

At age 13, Rajmund and his brother Francis decided to be friars!

They entered the seminary of the Conventual Franciscans!

(Franciscans who follow a more moderate rule than the Capuchins)

Rajmund was an excellent student! Intelligent! Dedicated!

He especially loved mathematics, physics, sciences!

But he loved even more to pray! Especially to Our Lady!

At age 16, Rajmund made religious vows!

He received a new name: Friar Maximilian Mary Kolbe!

Maximilian in devotion to Saint Maximilian the martyr!

Mary in devotion to Our Lady!

Kolbe was his family surname!

From then on, he would be known as Friar Maximilian!

Studies in Rome

The superiors recognized Friar Maximilian's intelligence!

They sent him to study in Rome (Italy)!

There, he studied philosophy and theology!

He was brilliant! He got top grades!

He obtained doctorates in philosophy AND in theology!

But he never became proud! He remained humble!

He said: "Everything comes from God! I am nothing!"

The Encounter with the Freemasons

In 1917, Friar Maximilian was in Rome!

He saw something that deeply shocked him!

The Freemasons (anti-Catholic secret society) held a public demonstration!

They carried flags with Lucifer (the devil) stepping on Saint Michael the Archangel!

They shouted against the Church! Against the Pope! Against Our Lady!

Friar Maximilian was horrified!

"How can they attack Our Lady like this? I must do something!"

October 16, 1917: Foundation of the Militia of the Immaculata

That same night, Friar Maximilian gathered six seminary colleagues!

They prayed! They talked! They decided!

They founded the Militia of the Immaculata (MI)!

(In Latin: Militia Immaculatae)

What was it? A movement of total consecration to Our Lady!

Objective: to convert sinners, heretics, Masons, everyone!

Through Mary! To Jesus!

The MI's motto: "To win the whole world for the Immaculata, so that through her all return to Jesus!"

Members consecrated themselves totally to Mary!

They wore a special medal (Miraculous Medal)!

They prayed daily prayers!

And mainly: they evangelized! They spread devotion to Mary!

In a few years, the MI grew extraordinarily!

Millions of members worldwide!

1918: Priestly Ordination

On April 28, 1918, Friar Maximilian was ordained a priest!

Father Maximilian Kolbe!

He celebrated his first Mass with immense joy!

But he was already sick! He had tuberculosis (terrible lung disease)!

He coughed blood! He had fever! Weakness!

Doctors said: "You will live at most 1 or 2 years!"

But Father Maximilian trusted in Mary!

"If the Immaculata wants me, I'll live! If not, I'll die! Her will be done!"

1919: Return to Poland

Father Maximilian returned to Poland!

The country had finally regained independence after 123 years of occupation!

But it was destroyed by World War I!

Poverty! Hunger! Despair!

And spiritually? Even worse!

Many had lost faith! Heresies spread! Atheism grew!

Father Maximilian looked and thought: "Here the Militia of the Immaculata is urgently needed!"

1922: "Knight of the Immaculata" Magazine

Father Maximilian had a brilliant idea!

"I need to evangelize! But how to reach millions? Through the press!"

He started a magazine called "Knight of the Immaculata" (Rycerz Niepokalanej)!

Objective: to spread devotion to Mary! Teach Catholic doctrine! Combat errors!

He started with minimal resources! Practically zero money!

But he trusted in Mary!

The first issue? They printed 5,000 copies!

It seemed a lot! But they distributed them all!

Second issue? 10,000!

Third? 20,000!

The magazine grew exponentially!

In a few years: 1 million copies per month!

It was one of the largest Catholic magazines in the world!

And all without charging! They distributed free or by donation!

Mary provided everything!

1927: Niepokalanów - City of the Immaculata

The work was growing so much they needed larger space!

Father Maximilian had an extraordinary vision!

To found an entire city dedicated to Mary!

"Niepokalanów" (City of the Immaculata)!

It would be a convent! A printing house! An evangelization center!

But how? They had no money! No land!

Father Maximilian trusted in Mary!

A Polish prince donated huge land near Warsaw!

They began building with practically nothing!

They worked! They prayed! Mary provided!

In a few years, Niepokalanów became the largest religious house in the world!

It had more than 700 friars!

Very modern printing house! It published magazines, newspapers, books!

Radio! (Father Maximilian used modern technology to evangelize!)

It came to publish 1.5 million magazines monthly!

1930: Mission in Japan

In 1930, Father Maximilian had a bold idea!

"I'm going to Japan! I'll found Niepokalanów there too!"

Japan? Buddhist, Shintoist country! Practically no Catholics!

Totally different language! Completely different culture!

Everyone thought it was crazy! "Impossible! You'll fail!"

But Father Maximilian trusted in Mary!

He left with four friars! Without knowing Japanese! Without money! Without contacts!

He arrived in Japan! He encountered immense difficulties!

Impossible language! Incomprehensible culture! Poverty!

But he didn't get discouraged!

In one month, he already published the first edition of "Knight of the Immaculata" in Japanese!

"Seibo no Kishi"!

How? He didn't even know Japanese well!

Mary worked! Inspired! Guided!

In six years in Japan, Father Maximilian:

- Founded "Mugenzai no Sono" (Garden of the Immaculata - Japanese Niepokalanów!)

- Published thousands of magazines!

- Converted many Japanese!

- Formed Japanese friars!

The local bishop was impressed: "You did in 6 years what other missionaries didn't do in 60!"

The work in Japan exists to this day!

1936: Return to Poland

In 1936, Father Maximilian's health worsened greatly!

Tuberculosis returned! He needed to return to Poland!

He left the Japanese mission in good hands!

He returned to Niepokalanów in Poland!

He resumed work as superior!

The work continued growing! Magazines! Radio! Evangelization!

But dark clouds were approaching Europe...

1939: World War II

On September 1, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland!

World War II began!

The Nazis were cruel! Atheists! Anti-Catholic!

They hated the Church! They hated priests! Especially Polish ones!

Niepokalanów was in danger!

But Father Maximilian didn't flee!

"We stay! We trust in the Immaculata!"

On September 19, 1939, the Nazis arrived at Niepokalanów!

They arrested Father Maximilian and 36 friars!

They took them to a prisoner camp!

There, they suffered! Hunger! Cold! Humiliations!

But Father Maximilian kept up the spirits of others!

"Let's trust in Mary! She doesn't abandon us!"

They prayed in hiding! Secret confessions! They kept the faith!

After three months, they were released!

They returned to Niepokalanów!

But it was destroyed! Looted! Bombed!

Father Maximilian didn't get discouraged!

"We'll rebuild! We'll continue!"

He transformed Niepokalanów into a hospital and refuge!

He sheltered 3,000 refugees, including 2,000 Jews!

(The Nazis killed Jews! Hiding them was a crime punishable by death!)

But Father Maximilian risked his life to save them!

February 17, 1941: The Final Imprisonment

On February 17, 1941, the Gestapo (Nazi secret police) returned!

They arrested Father Maximilian again!

This time would be different! There would be no release!

They took him to prison in Warsaw!

Tortures! Interrogations! Humiliations!

They wanted him to renounce the faith! Curse Mary!

Father Maximilian refused!

"Never! Mary is my Mother! Jesus is my All!"

In May 1941, they transferred Father Maximilian!

To the worst place on Earth:

Auschwitz!

Nazi concentration camp!

Place of death! Torture! Despair!

There, more than 1 million people would die!

There, Father Maximilian would face the final test!

There, the red crown (martyrdom) that Our Lady had shown him at age 10...

...would be won!