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This Saturday, August 14, the Catholic Church celebrates the Memorial of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr. He was a Polish priest and Conventual Franciscan Friar who was sent to Auschwitz during the German occupation of Poland. He ministered to his fellow prisoners and gave them hope. When ten men were selected to be starved to death as punishment for another prisoner’s escape, Kolbe volunteered to die in place of a man who had a family. Maximilian Kolbe was canonized by his fellow Pole, Saint John Paul II in 1982 and is considered the patron saint of families. The prisoner whom Saint Maximilian saved attended his canonization.
Loving God, we pray for families who are separated by war, imprisonment, or displacement. Grant us courage to defend the unity and sanctity of our families. Amen.
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