Franciszek Gajowniczek (1901 – March 13, 1995^[1]) was a Polish army sergeant whose life was spared by the Nazis when Saint Maximilian Kolbe sacrificed his life for Gajowniczek's. Gajowniczek had been sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp for aiding the Jewish resistance in Poland. is the 72nd day of the year (73rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... National Socialism redirects here. ... In traditional Christian iconography, Saints are often depicted as having halos. ... Maximilian Kolbe (January 8, 1894–August 14, 1941), also known as Maksymilian or Massimiliano Maria Kolbe and Apostle of Consecration to Mary, born as Rajmund Kolbe, was a Polish Conventual Franciscan friar who volunteered to die in place of a stranger in the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz in Poland. ... Auschwitz, in English, commonly refers to the Auschwitz concentration camp complex built near the town of Oświęcim, by Nazi Germany during World War II. Rarely, it may refer to the Polish town of Oświęcim (called by the Germans Auschwitz) itself. ... The Jewish resistance during the Holocaust was the resistance of the Jewish people against Nazi Germany leading up to and through World War II. Due to the careful organization and overwhelming military might of the Nazi German State and its supporters, many Jews were unable to resist the killings. ...

Gajowniczek and Kolbe were both prisoners in 1941 at Auschwitz when a prisoner appeared to have escaped.^[2] According to the camp's policy, whenever a prisoner escaped, ten others were killed by starvation in reprisal for the escape. Franciszek Gajowniczek was one of those selected to die. When the Franciscan priest Kolbe heard Gajowniczek cry, "My poor wife! My poor children! What will they do?" Kolbe offered himself instead. What exactly Kolbe said has been forgotten, but one version records his words as, "I am a Catholic priest from Poland; I would like to take his place, because he has a wife and children."^[3] A female child during the Nigerian-Biafran war of the late 1960s, shown suffering the effects of severe hunger and malnutrition. ... The Order of Friars Minor and other Franciscan movements are disciples of Saint Francis of Assisi. ... Priesthood in the Catholic Church is the second of the three orders of ordained ministry, Bishop, Priest and Deacon. ...

Gajowniczek was released from Auschwitz after spending five years, five months and nine days in the camp. Though his wife, Helena, survived the war, his sons were killed in a Soviet bombardment in 1945, before his release.^[1]

When Pope Paul VI beatified Maximilian Kolbe in 1971, Gajowniczek was a guest of the Pope's. In 1972, Time Magazine reported that over 150,000 made a pilgrimage to Auschwitz to honor the anniversary of Maximilian's beatification. One of the first to speak was Gajowniczek, who declared "I want to express my thanks, for the gift of life."^[4] His wife, Helena, died in 1977.^[1] Gajowniczek was again a guest of the Pope when Maximilian Kolbe was canonized on October 10, 1982. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Pope (from Latin... Paul VI, Giovanni Battista Enrica Antonia Maria Montini (September 26, 1897 – August 6, 1978), served as Pope from 1963 to 1978. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... October 10 is the 283rd day of the year (284th in leap years). ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ...

In 1994 Gajowniczek visited the St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic Church of Houston, where he told his translator Chaplain Thaddeus Horbowy that "so long as he ... has breath in his lungs, he would consider it his duty to tell people about the heroic act of love by Maximilian Kolbe." Gajowniczek died on March 13, 1995, a little over 53 years after having his life spared by Kolbe, in the Polish city of Brzeg. He was survived by his second wife Janina.^[1] Houston redirects here. ... is the 72nd day of the year (73rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Brzeg (German: ) is a town in southwestern Poland with 42,00 inhabitants (2006), situated in the Opole Voivodship. ...

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