Bl. Fr. Jerzy Popieluszko’s Patriotic Model: St. Maximilian M. Kolbe, the Martyr of Auschwitz-Birkenau
Bl. Fr. Jerzy Popieluszko’s Patriotic Model: St. Maximilian M. Kolbe, the Martyr of Auschwitz-Birkenau

Summary/Abstract: The moral messages that Bl. Jerzy Popieluszko’s conveyed in the homilies that he gave during his famous “Masses for the Fatherland” are still relevant today, particularly with regard to fundamental issues concerning the values of man and society. Patriotism is among the many topics that this martyr addressed. Fr. Popieluszko looked up to St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe, OFM Conv, as a personal example of love and the gift of oneself to God and one’s neighbor. St. Maximilian, otherwise known as the Martyr of Auschwitz-Birkenau, and his life, pastoral ministry, teaching, boundless charity, and self-offering for the Church and Poland were an inspiration to Fr. Jerzy. As he read the “Knight of the Immaculate” publications as a youth, the young future priest from Warsaw was fascinated with the Franciscan’s life. Years later, the figure of St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe served to show Fr. Jerzy the importance of the virtue of patriotism in the life of every Christian, particularly Poles.

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