«There is not a single heroic act that we cannot accomplish with the help of the Immaculate Conception…»
by Mother AM Cánopi
On August 14, 1941, the eve of the Assumption: in the "hunger bunker" of Auschwitz - the extermination camp whose memory never ceases to arouse horror and emotion - gently pronouncing: "Hail, Mary", he breathed his last inmate no. 16.670, i.e. Father Maximilian Kolbe.
Under the impetus of his usual charity, he offered himself as a substitute for a family man, one of the ten selected to die in place of an escaped prisoner. He was forty-seven years old and had been deported while he passionately dedicated himself to the spread of the Militia of Mary Immaculate, the Marian movement that he had founded since he was a theology student in Rome, with the aim of making the irreplaceable role of Mary Immaculate better known and experienced in life of the Christian and of every man.
Despite having to face numerous obstacles - not least that of tuberculosis - Father Massimiliano had been a tireless apostle; with his contagious enthusiasm she had multiplied the Niepokalanów (City of the Immaculate) and distributed bulletins translated into various languages to spread throughout the world the consoling message of the motherhood of She through whom men come to Jesus and Jesus to men. The secret of the Marian mysticism, from which Father Massimiliano drew the strength to love to the point of extreme self-sacrifice, refers to the effect that a sweet and at the same time shocking experience had on him at the age of ten. Dream or vision? While all alone he was praying in front of an image of the Madonna, he saw her come to life and show him two crowns: one of white flowers (symbol of purity) and one of red flowers (symbol of martyrdom). Invited to choose, the boy had not hesitated to choose both, and from that moment on he had forever and totally entrusted his existence to the Mother of the Lord. Very eloquent, in this regard, are some resolutions that, with firm determination, he had formulated during a retreat in 1920: «I must be holy... My life (in every moment), my death (where, when, how) and the my eternity, all this is yours, O Immaculate! Do with me whatever you like." In this way he intended to be helped by Mary to conform to Jesus in humble poverty, in unconditional obedience, in the greatest love. And all this was achieved admirably in him, both in life and in death. He wanted to evangelize the whole world to make it a City of the Immaculate: with his martyrdom of charity he made the most convincing speech.
With the simplicity of childhood and at the same time with the wisdom of the elderly filled with the Holy Spirit, Father Massimiliano lived and died as the son of Mary Immaculate; this was his forma sanctitatis, the mystical beauty of his face remained intact despite the atrocity of the death he suffered in the bunker, after having helped his nine companions in slow agony to die sweetly in the arms of the Mother, one by one. Here is the testimony of his jailer: «I found him leaning against the wall, his face was radiant in an unusual way. His eyes open and concentrated in one point. The whole figure of him as if in ecstasy. I'll never forget it".
One day, during a conversation, some young brothers had asked him what sanctity essentially consisted of. Father Massimiliano reiterated his conviction: to fully match one's will with that of God. Easy to say, but not to implement! And he with complete confidence: «There is not a single heroic act that we cannot perform with the help of the Immaculate Conception…». “Where did you read this, father?” they asked him. And he, smiling with child's eyes: «These things cannot be learned from books. These are things that can only be learned by being on your knees...". It is an invitation for everyone.