St. Maximilian Kolbe Feast Day Recipes

St. Maximilian Kolbe was born in 1894 in the Kingdom of Poland. At the age of 13, he and his brother joined the Conventual Franciscans. He made his final vows 7 years later. 

He spent much of his life in Poland, so I’ve collected some delicious Polish recipes to make to honor the life of St. Maximilian on his feast day, August 14. 

When Maximilian was just 12 years old, he had a vision of the Blessed Mother. He had been praying, asking her what he was to do in life and what was to become of him. He said he saw her appear holding two crowns, one red and one white. She offered him a choice, the white crown of purity and the red crown of a martyr. St. Maximilian explained, “I said that I would accpet them both.” To commemorate this beautiful event in his life, we have some recipes for crown cakes and desserts. 

Finally, St. Maximilian suffered greatly during his captivity in Auschwitz, along with hundreds of thousands of Jewish victims and captives of other faiths and backgrounds. We have some recipes to acknowledge that suffering and the fortitude of the victims of the Holocaust.