The founding of the Oświęcim Family Community and the creation of the Shrine of Victorious Love are at the heart of the pastoral commitment of the Conventual Franciscans in Harmęże, near Oświęcim [Auschwitz], Poland. On July 29, 2025, the friars presented these initiatives to journalists at a specially convened press conference.
Friar Kazimierz MALINOWSKI, Director of the St. Maximilian Center in Harmęże, said: “We want the Oświęcim Family Community to bring together the descendants, and more broadly the families, of former Auschwitz prisoners. Our intention is for this group to nurture the memory of the Polish victims in Auschwitz in a Christian way, mainly through prayer, but also through solidarity with the victims’ families. This idea stems from a decision made by the Most Reverend Tadeusz RAKOCZY, Bishop Emeritus of our Diocese of Bielsko-Żywiec, Poland. He wanted the statue of Our Lady Behind Barbed Wire to become the patroness of the families of Auschwitz prisoners. The statue of Our Lady Behind Barbed Wire was sculpted by former prisoner Bolesław KUPIEC. It has become a symbol of hope and protection for the families of the deportees. It represents Mary’s maternal presence even in the darkest places of history.”
He continued: “We invite all those who wish to contribute to the Oświęcim Family Community, and who have had Auschwitz prisoners in their family, to contact us at harmeze@franciszkanie.pl.”
The Guardian of the friary announced that this initiative will be inaugurated on Saturday, September 13, 2025. “There will be a prayer pilgrimage,” said Friar Kazimierz, “from Harmęże to the Auschwitz Museum, up to Block 11. A Mass will be celebrated beforehand, and the Stations of the Cross will be prayed in memory of the prisoners of the extermination camp. This event is linked to the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, which is celebrated every year on September 15. The cult of Our Lady Behind Barbed Wire is linked to this date.”
Friar Kazimierz MALINOWSKI also explained the significance of the Shrine of Victorious Love to the attending journalists from print, radio, television, and digital media: “The idea of the Shrine is that it carries a profound message, directly linked to the St. Maximilian Center in Harmęże. We want it to express that when Friar Maximilian M. KOLBE sacrificed his life in Auschwitz, it was a victory of Divine Love.”
To support this reflection, Friar Kazimierz MALINOWSKI quoted Cardinal Karol WOJTYŁA—later Pope John Paul II—who in 1972, uttered some words that still resonate powerfully today: “There, in Oświęcim, Christ definitively triumphed through the Immaculata: He triumphed in humanity. Moreover, thanks to this, humanity achieved such a great victory that today the whole world must speak of it.”
Ten years later, as Pope, he stated: “…the death of Maximilian Kolbe became a sign of victory. This was a victory achieved over an entire system of contempt and hatred toward humanity and toward what is divine in humanity. It was a victory similar to that won by our Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary.”
To explore the theme in greater depth and understand it better, each journalist received a copy of a book by Friar Zdzisław KIJAS, entitled, “The Shrine of Victorious Love.”
The Conventual Franciscans also showed the guests three treasures kept in the Shrine and told the stories behind them. One was the painting of the Immaculata on the high altar, before which, in Lviv, St. Maximilian vowed to Mary to fight for her. Another was the statue of Our Lady Behind Barbed Wire, made by former prisoner Bolesław KUPIEC (prisoner number 792); and finally, the exhibition entitled “Negatives of Memory: Labyrinths” by Marian KOŁODZIEJ, a former prisoner (prisoner number 432) who arrived on the first transport to Auschwitz.
Friar Jan Maria SZEWEK
For more information, please visit: http://harmeze.franciszkanie.pl
