Bennington Banner in Bennington, Vermont

Kolbe Beaten to Death at Auschwitz Saint to Be Beatified

Polish Franciscan Father Maximilian Kolbe, who died at Auschwitz in 1941 after volunteering to die for a fellow prisoner, will be beatified by Pope Paul VI in Rome. The ceremony will honor his act of self sacrifice and is seen as a possible step toward sainthood. Survivors and inmates recall his calm leadership and faith as the camp’s horrors continued. The survivor he saved, Sgt. Frank Gajowniczek, attends the Rome ceremony and says Kolbe’s sacrifice renewed their faith.