About this Geocache
This is one of the five geocaches I have place on the grounds of the Shrine of St. Anthony. The reason for this cache is to introduce you to Prisoner 16670—a World War II hero and martyr at Auschwitz and a great personal inspiration to me. This cache is in an open and often visited location so stealth may be required, especially between the hours of 11:00 and 1:00 daily and all day on weekends. Three of the other four caches are readily accessible along trails in the forest on the property. The fourth is at another beautiful location on the opposite side of the shrine. Although this could be grab and go, you are encouraged to take some time and visit the beautiful grounds.
Prisoner 16670: St. Maximilian Kolbe:
Maximilian Kolbe was born on January 8, 1894 in Zdunska-Wola, Poland. His baptismal name was Raymond (which is also my name). At age 9, he had a vision of the Blessed Mother who offered him a choice of two crowns, one red (for martyrdom) and one white (for purity). Raymond indicated he wanted both. The symbolism of these two crowns would be made clear later in his life.
Raymond entered the Conventual Franciscans in 1910 and received the name Maximilian. Upon completing his initial formation, he left for Rome to continue his studies in Philosophy and Theology. In 1918 he was ordained a priest. While in Rome, Father Maximilian founded the Society of the Militia of the Immaculate. His ambition was to win the whole world for Christ though the Immaculate Mother of God.
Upon his return to Poland, he began to spread his Marian Apostolate with great zeal by publishing a newsletter entitled, The Knight of the Immaculate. In 1927 he founded “Marytown” in Niepokalanów—a Friary and Center for the Marian Apostolate which quickly became the largest community of friars in the world.
After three years of strenuous labor, Fr. Maximilian and four brothers left for Japan to establish another Marytown in Nagasaki. He also opened a secondary school there for future missionaries. In 1936 he returned to Poland where he extended his ministry to radio. World War II interrupted the press Apostolate as portions of the Center’s workshops were used to house the handicapped and refugees. Fr. Kolbe was arrested three times during the German invasion of Poland. On May 28, 1941 he was sent to Auschwitz where he became prisoner 16670.
In July the camp commander ordered the prisoners from the barracks to fall in line. A prisoner had escaped and ten men would be randomly selected to die of starvation. Francis Gajowniczek begged for his life to be spared. He was married and hoped to return to his wife and young children one day. Fr. Maximilian stepped forward and requested that he be allowed to die in this man’s place.
The ten men were stripped and put in an underground cell without food or water for two weeks. Fr. Kolbe had the men singing to the Blessed Mother and praising God. When no voices could be heard the cell was opened. Three men remained barely alive. Fr. Kolbe was among them. His life was ended by a lethal injection on August 14, 1941.
Fr. Maximilian Kolbe was declared a Blessed in 1971 and canonized “the Saint for difficult times, patron of prisoners and those suffering with dependencies” eleven years later. Saint Pope John Paul II declared Saint Maximilian a martyr of Charity. Francis Gajowniczek was present at St. Maximilian's canonization. By his priesthood he was awarded the white crown of purity and by his death the red crown of martyrdom.
This statue of St. Maximilian was blessed by Pope John Paul II in the piazza of St. Peter’s Basilica on October 10, 1982, at the canonization of St. Maximilian Kolbe. The statue originally purchased by Monsignor Siedlecki from Kulpmont, Pennsylvania with the intention of placing it on the grounds of his parish church. Before a proper setting was found, Msgr. Siedlecki fell ill and died. He left instructions that the statue was to be given to the Conventual Franciscans responsible for the Shrine of St. Anthony and the statue was brought here.
The Kolbe Shrine was designed by Fr. Joseph Dorniak, OFM Conv. His vision was to house St. Maximilian in a shelter facing our Blessed Mother, who he dedicated his life’s work to, at the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes on the Shrine grounds.
The structure incorporates the architectural style of the main shrine building, leaving three open archways and one archway behind the statue of St. Maximilian that would be bricked in to symbolize the cell blocks at the concentration camp. On the exterior of the bricked in archway, the words of St. Maximilian speak to our world today, “Hatred destroys. Love alone creates.”
Source: Shrine in Honor of St. Maximilian Kolbe in the Grotto Gardens, Shrine of St. Anthony brochure
An inspirational short video about St. Maximilian Kolbe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsHiBTLo3aw&index=6&list=PL967fm7hOmgyB64_niQrZ9Dj0rMuFbojZ
Nine Things to Know About St. Maximilian Kolbe
https://www.wordonfire.org/resources/blog/9-things-to-know-about-st-maximilian-kolbe/4426/
About the Shrine of St. Anthony
The Shrine of St. Anthony in Ellicott City, MD is a ministry of the Conventual Franciscan Friars. This peaceful, holy ground is welcoming to all. It is a wonderful pilgrimage destination and one of my favorite places to rest and reflect. The Shrine is located on land once owned by Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence. This land was a portion of Doughoregan Manor. The Manor House on the property was a gift from Carroll, the richest man in America, to his favorite granddaughter Emily. The Franciscan Friars purchased the property on which the Shrine is located in 1928 to be used by the Friars as their novitiate.
In 1992, a new evangelization ministry was conceived that would be a “Church without walls.” Through the Companions of St. Anthony, the friars and their associates seek to serve the public through a variety of contemplative and catechetical experiences. In 1995, with the gift of a major relic of St. Anthony from their confreres at the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua, Italy, the friars began a ministry that grew into the Shrine of St. Anthony we know today.