"A Nazi soldier came toward him with a deadly hypodermic needle. Father Maximilian understood. The Nazis were coming to speed up his passage to heaven! He smiled as he offered the soldier his pitifully thin arm. Soon he would be with Jesus and Mary. He felt the Immaculate Mother's presence here (...)"

Father Maximilian Kolbe was beatified by Pope Paul VI in 1971 and proclaimed a saint by Pope John Paul II on 10 October 1982. We celebrate his feast day each year on 14 August.