Maximilian Kolbe

Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish Franciscan friar, priest, and martyr. He was born on January 8, 1894, in Zwierzyńce, Russian Empire. Kolbe was a member of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and served in various roles, including as a chaplain in the Polish Army. He was arrested by the Nazis in 1941 and sent to Auschwitz, where he volunteered to take the place of a fellow prisoner. Kolbe was eventually executed in the camp in 1941. He was beatified in 1971 and canonized in 1982. Today, he is revered as a saint in the Catholic Church.