Death Out Of Love

Christ on the Cross, Eugene Delacroix, 1853

Today the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe, who was canonized by Saint John Paul II in 1982.

A Polish Franciscan with a deep devotion to Mary, Kolbe gave his own life for a fellow prisoner at the Auschwitz extermination camp, taking on the man's punishment of death by starvation because he had a wife and children. Not only this, but the saint also gave life to others in the camp, reminding them of their dignity as persons and that hope was not yet lost. Kolbe is particularly remembered for leading the nine others condemned to starvation in Marian hymns and the Rosary as they awaited their death.

St. John Paul II had a deep devotion to Maximilian Kolbe, and his sacrifice in the heart of darkness gave the late Holy Father much hope as he discerned his own vocation in war torn Poland. Kolbe’s Christ-like gift of self stood as a model of priesthood for him, and the Franciscan's hope in the midst of hatred inspired a renewed respect for the dignity of the human person in a place and a time in which it seemed to have been forgotten.

Light In Darkness

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

-1 John:5

The first part of our new exhibit, A Gift of Love: The Life of Saint John Paul II, can be surprising for some of our visitors. Saint John Paul II was a great lover of humanity, even though, as our exhibit shows, he experienced humanity at some of its darkest hours.

As a child, John Paul II was known as Karol Wojtyła. Born in Wadowice, Poland in 1920, young Karol lost both of his parents and his two siblings by the time he was 21. Amidst the losses he suffered, Karol grew up in a world in which his faith, his culture, and his freedom were all under attack. The Nazis occupied his country until he reached adulthood. Once they were defeated, the Soviet Union took over.

Throughout this time, Wojtyła flourished. Studious, athletic, and artistic, he did not allow outside forces to quell the love inside of him.  Sustained by his family, friends, and faith, he instead lived as a light to others. The shadows of the 20^th century did not keep him from his vocation to the priesthood, they did not keep him from nourishing his flock in Poland, nor did they keep him from bringing his love for the human person to the Second Vatican Council.