Marytown in Libertyville, Illinois: The National Shrine of St. Maximilian Kolbe
http://www.marytown.com
Conventual Franciscan Friars of Marytown
1600 W Park AveLibertyville, IL 60048
THE EUCHARISTIC MONSTRANCE
Upon entering Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament
adoration chapel, the eye is naturally drawn to the monstrance where the
Eucharistic Jesus is enthroned. The monstrance is five feet, two
inches tall and has been entirely fashioned from sacrificial gifts of
jewelry.
Symbols of the four Evangelists grace the base,
signifying that Eucharistic doctrine is based in Sacred Scripture. The
stem of the monstrance is formed by a figure of Mary Immaculate crushing
the head of a serpentine Satan. The removable lunela holds Jesus truly
present in the consecrated host. Encircling it are eight medallions
portraying “types,” or symbols of the Blessed Sacrament.
A podium of marble with angels in high relief and
grateful expression supports the monstrance. Learn more about the
monstrance by clicking HERE.
THE ALTAR OF EXPOSITION
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus: Holy, Holy,
Holy, carved in the steps leading to the altar proclaim the sacredness
of this space. Nine species of imported marble make up the altar’s
construction. Its frontal area is a masterpiece, inlaid with mosaics
representing the Mass as sacrifice: the breaking of bread at Emmaus, the
sacrifices of Abraham and Melchisedech.
St. Maximilian Kolbe, Martyr of Charity
St. Maximilian was born Raymond Kolbe in Poland, January 8, 1894. In 1910, he entered the Conventual Franciscan Order. He was sent to study in Rome where he was ordained a priest in 1918.
Father Maximilian returned to Poland in 1919 and began spreading his Militia of the Immaculata
movement of Marian consecration (whose members are also called MIs),
which he founded on October 16, 1917. In 1927, he established an
evangelization center near Warsaw called Niepokalanów, the "City of the
Immaculate." By 1939, the City had expanded from eighteen friars to
nearly 900, making it the largest Catholic religious house in the world.
To better "win the world for the Immaculata," the
friars utilized the most modern printing and administrative techniques.
This enabled them to publish countless catechetical and devotional
tracts, a daily newspaper with a circulation of 230,000 and a monthly
magazine with a circulation of over one million. Maximilian started a
radio station and planned to build a motion picture studio--he was a
true "apostle of the mass media." He established a City of the
Immaculata in Nagasaki, Japan, in 1930, and envisioned missionary
centers worldwide.
Maximilian was a ground-breaking theologian. His
insights into the Immaculate Conception anticipated the Marian theology
of the Second Vatican Council and further developed the Church's
understanding of Mary as "Mediatrix" of all the graces of the Trinity,
and as "Advocate" for God's people.
In 1941, the Nazis imprisoned Father Maximilian in
the Auschwitz death camp. There he offered his life for another
prisoner and was condemned to slow death in a starvation bunker. On
August 14, 1941, his impatient captors ended his life with a fatal
injection. Pope John Paul II canonized Maximilian as a "Martyr of Charity" and “Patron Saint of our difficult century” in 1982. St. Maximilian Kolbe is the patron of journalists, families, prisoners, the pro-life movement and the chemically addicted.
During the Jubilee Year 2000, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops designated Marytown as the National Shrine of St. Maximilian Kolbe.
Pilgrims are welcome to venerate the relics of this Polish Conventual Franciscan
priest, publisher, theologian and evangelist. His life of charity and
heroic death in the Auschwitz death camp is commemorated in our Kolbe/Holocaust Exhibit.
Saint Maximilian is considered the patron of journalists, families,
prisoners, the pro-life movement, those afflicted with chemical
dependency and eating disorders, and the media communications. Come and visit an inspirational place of prayer, hospitality, evangelization, and personal spiritual growth!
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