House Saint – St Maxmillian Kolbe
Head of House – Ms S Hampshire
House Captains –
House Charity – Catholic Children’s Society
House Colour – Green
Feast Day – 9 October
Kolbe House Prayer
Saint Maximilian Kolbe,
You lived during a tragic time in history.
When I am met with unkindness I ask that you give me the deep love that you had in your heart.
I pray that I might have the courage to put the welfare of others before my own.
Amen.
Saint Maximilian Kolbe
Pray for us.
Saint Maximillian Kolbe
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Raymond Kolbe was born in Poland on 8 January 1894. In1910 he entered the Conventual Franciscan Order. In 1912 Kolbe went to Rome, where he studied theology and philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University. In 1917 he founded the sodality (devotional association) of the Militia of Mary Immaculate, and was ordained a priest in 1918, taking the name Maximilian.
During the Second World War he provided shelter to refugees from Greater Poland, including 2000 Jews whom he hid from Nazi persecution in his friary in Niepokalanów. He was also active as a radio amateur, with Polish call letters SP3RN, vilifying Nazi activities through his reports. On 17 February 1941 he was arrested by the German Gestapo and imprisoned in the Pawiak prison, and on May 28 he was transferred to Auschwitz as prisoner #16670.
In July 1941 a man from Kolbe's barracks vanished, prompting SS-Hauptsturmführer Karl Fritzsch, the deputy camp commander, to pick 10 men from the same barracks to be starved to death in Block 13 (notorious for torture), in order to deter further escape attempts (the man who had disappeared was later found drowned in the camp latrine). One of the selected men, Franciszek Gajowniczek, cried out, lamenting his family, and Kolbe volunteered to take his place.
During the time in the cell he led the men in songs and prayer. After three weeks of dehydration and starvation, only Kolbe and three others were still alive. He encouraged others that they would soon be with Mary in heaven. Each time the guards checked on him he was standing or kneeling in the middle of the cell and looking calmly at those who entered, while the others lay moaning and complaining, on the ground around him. He was killed with an injection of carbolic acid. Some who were present at the injection say that he raised his left arm and calmly waited for the injection. His remains were cremated on the Assumption of Mary (August, 15).Father Kolbe was beatified as a confessor by Pope Paul VI in 1971 and was canonized by Pope John Paul II on 10 October 1982 in the presence of Franciszek Gajowniczek. Upon canonization, the Pope declared St. Maximilian Kolbe not a confessor, but a martyr. St. Maximilian's beatification miracle was the July 1948 cure of intestinal tuberculosis in Angela Testoni, and in August 1950, the cure of calcification of the arteries/sclerosis of Francis Ranier was attributed to the intercession of St Maximilian.
After his canonization St. Maximilian Kolbe's feast day was included in the General Roman Calendar used by the ordinary form of the Roman rite of the Catholic Liturgy. He is the patron saint of journalists as well as radio amateurs.
Kolbe House Charity
Kolbe House are dedicated to raising money for the Catholic Children’s Society. The Catholic Children’s Society provides child care services to assist children and families in need, irrespective of race or faith, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster.
Through their direct work the Catholic Children’s Society help some 3000 children, young people and their families each year. With well over a century of experience of working with children and families they recognise that families today come in all shapes and sizes and from widely ranging cultural and religious backgrounds.
The Catholic Children’s Society believe that every child has the right to a secure upbringing in a loving family.
The services aim to support disadvantaged families and families in crisis to strengthen the family bond and to prevent family breakdown. Our concern is to enable children to have a positive experience of childhood and to prevent long-term emotional and behavioural problems caused by poor experiences of family life.
They also aim to create strong new family relationships through adoption and to give children ‘in care’ and others the chance to be valued and loved by adoptive parents.
Kolbe House will be raising money throughout the school year through various fund raising activities.
One huge money maker was ‘The Walk a Mile in Their Shoes’ sponsored walk. Ten of our students took part in this event, which took place on 7 October 2009, which started at Hyde Park Corner to Westminster Cathedral. I am very pleased to say that the ten pupils from Kolbe House that took part in this event raised the grand total of £150.00
Kolbe Feast Day
Kolbe Feast Day is officially held on the 16 August but here at St Thomas More Catholic School we celebrate it on 9 October.
This years Kolbe House Feast Day was a wonderful celebration of our House Saint, our House achievements and St Thomas More Catholic School as a whole.
Highlights included:
- A Guest Speaker from The Holocaust Society: Miss Louise Heilba
- Miss Heilba gave an informative and emotional speech to the pupil’s of Kolbe House on the atrocities that took place during the Second World War, in particular the capture, confinement and ultimately the death of 6 million Jewish people, including children and babies. Feedback from the pupil’s proved the impact of the speech, comments included “It has never occurred to me just how many people died during the Holocaust and it still relates today with modern day racism – people need to be more accepting.” Year 10 female Kolbe House pupil.
- Guest Speakers from the Kolbe House Charity: The Catholic Children’s Society: Ms Julie Willoughby and Mr Christian Keeley.
- Pupils were shown a video about the recent “Walk a Mile in their Shoes” charity walk that ten Kolbe House Pupils took part in on Wednesday 7 October 2009. The charity helps raise money for under privileged children. The pair congratulated the pupils that took part in the walk a few days earlier.
- Pupil’s were then treated to a video created by Miss Hampshire and Mr Bryant (Media Department) and some selected Kolbe tutors and pupils. The video seemed to be the highlight of the days’ festivities and the pupils really enjoyed seeing their peers talk on the big screen about “What Kolbe Means to me” .
- Finally pupils finished their celebration in style by sitting down a feast of food in the “All Saints Diner.” The diner was decorated in the house colour of green and the canteen staff worked hard to design a gorgeous green cake for pupils to enjoy. The day was topped off by professional photographers setting up in the canteen to take pictures of the pupils dressed up to the nines in their house colour.
