Prayer:Prayer to St. Maximilian Kolbe
Stored: Prayer to St. Maximilian Kolbe
| Prayer to St. Maximilian Kolbe | |
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| Author | Unknown |
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| Language | English |
| Approval | None |
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| Added on | 2026-08-13 |
St. Maximilian Kolbe (1894–1941) was a Polish Franciscan friar, founder of the Militia Immaculatae, prolific apostle of Marian devotion, and martyr of charity at the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz. He was canonized by Pope John Paul II on October 10, 1982, and declared a martyr of charity — a designation unique in modern canonization history — for his voluntary self-offering in exchange for the life of a condemned fellow prisoner, Franciszek Gajowniczek. His feast day is celebrated on August 14, the vigil of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to whom he was wholly consecrated.
Prayers addressed to St. Maximilian Kolbe have grown steadily since his beatification in 1971 and his subsequent canonization. Catholics invoke him especially in circumstances requiring heroic courage, selfless love, perseverance under persecution, and intercession for prisoners and those suffering unjust condemnation. His witness to the absolute primacy of love — both for God through the Immaculata and for neighbor even unto death — makes him one of the most compelling intercessors of the twentieth century.
The prayer below belongs to the tradition of invocatory prayers addressed to the saints, asking for their intercession before God. It draws upon the theological foundations of the Communion of Saints, as expressed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (nos. 946–962), and reflects the particular charisms of St. Maximilian: sacrificial charity, Marian consecration, and apostolic zeal.
The Prayer
O St. Maximilian Kolbe, you gave your life out of love for another, imitating Christ the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep.
You did not hesitate when love demanded the ultimate sacrifice, and in the starvation bunker of Auschwitz you became a living icon of the love of Christ.
Inflame our hearts with love for God and for our neighbor, that we may never count the cost of sacrifice when charity demands it of us.
Teach us the totality of surrender to the Immaculate Virgin, through whom you received such strength and such grace.
Intercede for us before the throne of Divine Mercy. Obtain for us the grace we now seek (here mention your intention), and lead us, by your example of heroic charity, through the darkness of this world to the light of eternal life.
Amen.
History and Background
Life of St. Maximilian Kolbe
Rajmund Kolbe was born on January 8, 1894, in Zduńska Wola, in the Kingdom of Poland, then under Russian imperial rule. He entered the Conventual Franciscan Order, taking the religious name Maximilian Maria. He was ordained a priest in 1918, having already founded the Militia Immaculatae (Knights of the Immaculata) in Rome in 1917, a worldwide apostolate consecrated to Our Lady Immaculate for the conversion of sinners and the sanctification of souls.
Fr. Maximilian established the City of the Immaculata (Niepokalanów) near Warsaw, which became one of the largest religious communities in the world, and conducted extensive missionary work in Japan, founding a second City of the Immaculata near Nagasaki. He employed every modern means of communication — radio, print journalism, cinema — in the service of the Gospel and Marian devotion.
Following the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, Fr. Maximilian sheltered thousands of Jewish refugees at Niepokalanów. He was arrested by the Gestapo and eventually transported to Auschwitz in May 1941 as prisoner number 16670. In July 1941, when a prisoner escaped and the Nazi guards selected ten men to die in reprisal, Fr. Maximilian stepped forward to take the place of Franciszek Gajowniczek, a married man and father. He and nine others were condemned to death by starvation. He survived for two weeks, sustaining and comforting his companions, and was finally killed by a lethal injection of carbolic acid on August 14, 1941.
Devotion and Canonization
Pope Paul VI beatified Maximilian Kolbe on October 17, 1971. Pope John Paul II — himself a Pole who had lived under Nazi occupation — canonized him on October 10, 1982, calling him a "martyr of charity." Franciszek Gajowniczek, the man whose life Fr. Maximilian had saved, was present at the canonization ceremony and lived until 1995.
Devotional prayers to St. Maximilian developed organically within Franciscan communities, at Niepokalanów, and among the faithful worldwide following his beatification. Various approved novena prayers, litanies, and intercessory prayers circulate through Franciscan publications, the Knights of the Immaculata, and Catholic prayer books, all drawing upon the central themes of his holiness: sacrificial love, Marian consecration, and witness under persecution.
How to Pray / Devotional Use
Personal Devotion
This prayer may be prayed at any time as a personal act of devotion, particularly when one faces a circumstance demanding sacrifice, courage, or selfless love. It is fitting to pause at the indicated moment — (here mention your intention) — and lay before St. Maximilian whatever specific grace or need is sought, whether for oneself or for another.
Novena
This prayer is traditionally incorporated into a nine-day novena to St. Maximilian Kolbe, often prayed in preparation for his feast day on **August 14**, or in the days surrounding the feast of the **Immaculate Conception (December 8)**, given his deep Marian consecration. One may also pray a novena at any time of urgent need.
Feast Day
The feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe is observed on **August 14**, the vigil of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This liturgical placement is considered profoundly fitting, as it unites his martyrdom with the mystery of Mary's bodily glorification — the very goal toward which his entire apostolate was directed.
Association with the Militia Immaculatae
Members of the Militia Immaculatae (Knights of the Immaculata), the worldwide apostolate St. Maximilian founded, are encouraged to invoke his intercession daily and to integrate this prayer into their regular devotional practice alongside the Miraculous Medal and consecration to the Immaculate Virgin.
Chaplet and Litany
This intercessory prayer may be combined with the Litany of St. Maximilian Kolbe or prayed before or after the Rosary, which St. Maximilian considered the principal weapon of the Militia Immaculatae.