---
title: "St. Maximilian Kolbe: Feast Day August 14 · Bless"
url: https://blessbible.app/saints/st-maximilian-kolbe/
description: "St. Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr, patron of prisoners, families, and journalists. Feast day August 14, died 1941. Read their life in Bless."
---

Priest and Martyr · Feast day August 14

# St. Maximilian Kolbe

The feast day of St. Maximilian Kolbe is August 14, a memorial in the US Catholic calendar. Traditionally invoked as patron of prisoners, families, and journalists.

|  |  |
|---|---|
| Feast day | [August 14](https://blessbible.app/saints/august/#14) |
| In the US calendar | Memorial |
| Title | Priest and Martyr |
| Died | 1941 |
| Patron of | [prisoners](https://blessbible.app/patron-saints/#prisoners), [families](https://blessbible.app/patron-saints/#families), [journalists](https://blessbible.app/patron-saints/#journalists) |
| Next on Bless’s Today screen | [Saturday, August 14, 2027](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-maximilian-kolbe/#calendar) |

## Life

A Polish Conventual Franciscan mad for the Immaculata: he founded a sodality, a magazine with a million subscribers, the largest friary in the world at Niepokalanów, and a mission in Nagasaki — placed on the sheltered side of a hill, where it survived the bomb.

Arrested by the Gestapo, he was sent to Auschwitz as prisoner 16670. When a man from his block was condemned to the starvation bunker and cried out for his wife and children, Kolbe stepped forward, gave his name as a Catholic priest, and asked to take the man’s place. He led the dying in prayer for two weeks and was finished by injection on the eve of the Assumption.

## Patron of

Tradition invokes St. Maximilian Kolbe as patron of prisoners, families, and journalists.

[Prisoners](https://blessbible.app/patron-saints/#prisoners) [Families](https://blessbible.app/patron-saints/#families) [Journalists](https://blessbible.app/patron-saints/#journalists)

### Saints with the same patronage

- [St. Joseph Cafasso](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-joseph-cafasso/) prisoners · June 23
- [St. Leonard of Noblac](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-leonard-of-noblac/) prisoners · November 6
- [St. Francis de Sales](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-francis-de-sales/) journalists · January 24

Patronages are traditional, not an official list. [All patron saints in Bless, A to Z](https://blessbible.app/patron-saints/).

## In the calendar

The upcoming dates, through December 31, 2028, when Bless’s Today screen shows St. Maximilian Kolbe. Where the US calendar keeps another celebration that day, it is named instead and no rank is given.

| Date | In the US calendar | Color | Mass readings (US) |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Saturday, August 14, 2027](https://blessbible.app/calendar/2027/08/14/) | St. Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr (Memorial) | Red | Joshua 24:14-29 · Psalm 16:1-2a and 5, 7-8, 11 · See Matthew 11:25 · Matthew 19:13-15 |
| [Monday, August 14, 2028](https://blessbible.app/calendar/2028/08/14/) | St. Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr (Memorial) | Red | Ezekiel 1:2-5, 24-28c · Psalm 148:1-2, 11-12, 13, 14 · See 2 Thessalonians 2:14 · Matthew 17:22-27 |

Readings

Later citations were computed by Bless from the US Lectionary cycle — confirm with your parish.

[August 13 Sts. Pontian and Hippolytus](https://blessbible.app/saints/sts-pontian-and-hippolytus/) [August 15 Blessed Virgin Mary](https://blessbible.app/saints/blessed-virgin-mary/)

[All the saints of August](https://blessbible.app/saints/august/) [Born on August 14?](https://blessbible.app/saints/birthday/#08-14) [A saint for every day](https://blessbible.app/saints/)

Spotted a mistake in a date, a patronage or a quotation? [Report an error](https://blessbible.app/support/#report) and we’ll fix it in the app and here.

St. Maximilian Kolbe

Feast day August 14

On this page

1. [Life](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-maximilian-kolbe/#life)
2. [Patron of](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-maximilian-kolbe/#patron)
3. [In the calendar](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-maximilian-kolbe/#calendar)

In the app

Bless shows a saint every day on its Today screen, with their life and their words. Free on iPhone.