In late July 1941, a prisoner escaped from St. Maximilian’s barracks in the concentration camp at Auschwitz.. In retaliation, the Nazis selected ten prisoners to starve to death. One of the ten, Polish Sergeant Francis Gajowniczek, cried out in agony over the fate of his family without a father. To the astonishment of prisoners and captors, Maximilian stepped forward from the ranks and stood before the Commandant.

The commandant asked, “What does this Polish pig want?”

Father Kolbe pointed to the Polish sergeant, saying, “I am a Catholic priest. I would like to take his place, because he has a wife and children.”

The commandant stood silent for a moment, and then allowed Gajowniczek to return to the other men while Father Kolbe took his place.

Maximilian then entered the starvation chamber with nine other men. He spent the last two weeks of his life encouraging his nine companions by praying and singing hymns with them in the block 13 starvation bunker.

On August 14, 1941, the vigil of the feast of the Assumption, Maximilian was one of four prisoners still alive. His impatient captors executed him by means of a lethal injection of carbolic acid and burned his body in the crematorium.

Pope John Paul II canonized Maximilian Kolbe on 10 October 1982 as a Martyr of Charity and “patron saint of our difficult century.” We have an outstanding example of one who had pity on his fellow we heard of in our gospel.

Sergeant Francis Gajowniczek survived World War II and spent the rest of his life touring the world speaking about the man who saved his life. He was present at St. Maximilian’s canonization. He died in 1995.