St. Maximilian Kolbe was ‘a testament to life in the face of death’

By Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, Executive Director of Catholic Mobilizing Network*

This month the Church celebrated the Feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe, OFM Conv. (August 14), a Polish priest known for his dedication to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who was imprisoned and executed in a Nazi German concentration camp in 1941.

In a particular way this year, I believe St. Kolbe’s intercession is especially needed in the United States, where executions continue on an increasing trajectory following a record high of 47 in 2025.

Twenty-three individuals have already been executed in 2026, including three men executed the day before St. Kolbe’s feast.

Through testimony from the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz, we can see how this patron saint of prisoners and the pro-life movement truly believed in the power of life over death.

At a time when several states across the United States continue to execute individuals in the name of justice, repaying death for death in a never-ending cycle of harm, St. Kolbe inspires us to continue to seek a vision of justice that is rooted instead in life.

Kolbe was imprisoned for his public opposition to the Nazi regime, which he broadcasted through his popular magazine and radio station.

In July, men from Kolbe’s barracks escaped. As punishment, the commander selected 10 men to be sent to a starvation chamber to die. When a young man named Franciszek Gajowniczek was selected, he began to cry out for his wife and children. Kolbe stepped forward and asked to take his place.

Kolbe’s sacrifice in the face of death demonstrated his unwavering commitment to life; to the future of this young father and the futures of his children.

That commitment did not stop. As Kolbe and his fellow nine prisoners were starving to their deaths in a dark chamber, he gave them reason to continue living.

Accounts from Auschwitz tell us that Kolbe led the men in prayer and song, and he even heard their confessions. This hope for life extended to individuals throughout the death camp.

Harsh punishment was exacted to set an example and to demonstrate the Nazis’ power over the lives of those they detained. But instead of screams and cries of pain, reminders of their ultimate demise, prisoners throughout the camp heard the sounds of hope coming from that chamber.

Advertisement

After more than two weeks without sustenance, only Kolbe and three other men remained alive. They were ultimately killed with a lethal injection of carbolic acid. To the very end, Kolbe held onto his dignity, raising his arm for the nurse to insert the deadly needle.

Franciszek Gajowniczek went on to not only survive the threat of that starvation chamber but Auschwitz and the war entirely. Forty-one years later, he was present when the Polish Pope St. John Paul II canonized St. Maximilian Koble in St. Peter’s Square.

Each time the United States executes someone – like the 23 individuals who have lost their lives this year – I think of St. Kolbe’s determination to preserve life in a place of so much death.

I pray that he will intercede for us as we struggle to do the same in our time through the opposition of the death penalty in the United States.

St. Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us.

* Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy is the Executive Director of Catholic Mobilizing Network, a national organization in the United States that mobilizes Catholics and people of goodwill to end the death penalty, advance justice solutions in alignment with Catholic values and promote healing through restorative justice approaches and practices. For more information and to join the movement, visit catholicsmobilizing.org.