Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe was born January 8, 1894 in Zduńska Wola, near Lodz in the Russian Empire, now part of Poland. His life climaxed in 1941 in Auschwitz, where he volunteered to die in place of a fellow prisoner he hardly knew. On October 17, 1971, Kolbe was beatified by Pope Paul VI, the first Nazi victim to be proclaimed blessed by the Roman Catholic Church. In 1982 Pope John Paul II canonized him, proclaiming also that he was to be venerated as a martyr.Famous quotes by Saint Maximilian:
Prayer is powerful beyond limits when we turn to the Immaculata who is queen even of God's heart.
If anyone does not wish to have Mary Immaculate for his Mother, he will not have Christ for his Brother.
The conflict with Hell cannot be maintained by men, even the most clever. The Immaculata alone has from God the promise of victory over Satan.
