OTHER FRIENDS

When one considers  the many men who surrounded the great St Maximilian Kolbe that are now being considered for canonization, one can see the effects the holiness of one person has on others.

VENERABLE GIROLAMO MARIA BIASIOne of several sons born to a poor village family, Arcangelo was baptized on the day f his birth. At the age of 12, he began to feel drawn to religious life, and on 4 October 1915 he joined the Franciscans, taking the name Fra Girolamo Maria.

During World War I Fra Girolamo  studied at the International College in Rome.  He was a close friend of St. Maximilian, who trusted his  co- worker implicitly. He help St. Maximilian found the Militia of the Immaculate*.

Arcangelo contracted tuberculosis, which interrupted his studies, but he managed to be ordained a priest  in Padua, Italy on 16 July 1922. His disease was debilitating, and he spent the remaining seven years of his life in and out of various hospitals, rarely able to work in the outside world, ministering to other patients, and praying for the work of his brother friars. 

In the midst of suffering, he managed to exude serenity and joy, despite the most complete inactivity and loneliness to which he was condemned. 

He wrote: " Jesus does not want extraordinary things from me, but He wants me to be faithful to Him in small things and to give Him proof of my love in these". 

Venerable Girolamo had  a great love of Blessed Mother and strove to spread devotion to her in all those with whom he encountered. St. Maximilian himself wished that his close friend be canonized by the Church  as soon as possible due to the pious life, virtue, and zeal for mission this holy man exuberated.

“Perfection does not consist in arduous and difficult things, but in the exact disengagement of one's duties, accompanied by a great love for God and an ardent charity for one's neighbor ”.

VENERABLE QUIRICO PIGNALBERI  was born in 1893 and joined the Franciscan Friars Minor Conventual in 1908 at Zagarolo, Rome. He studied at the Gregorian University from 1911 to 1913 and the Pontifical Faculty of St Bonaventura from 1914 to 1917.

He was a great friend and classmate of St Maximilian Kolbe, and was one of the founders of the Militia of Mary Immaculate. 

He worked on the front lines as a medic in WWI, was the Rector of young seminarians, and later a Master of Novices for almost fifty years, helping to shape the religious lives of generations of Franciscan Friars. He was a highly sought after preacher and confessor.

He assisted with the reconstruction of communities and recovery of assets damaged or lost after WWII. Despite ill health and even confinement to a wheelchair, he continued to work with his novice brothers until his death.

He had a lifelong hobby of repairing clocks, and enjoyed working with precision instruments and  technology.  He traveled to Poland in 1971 in connection with the beatification of St Maximilian. 

On 1 April 1979 he met Pope  (St.) John Paul II who embraced the frail priest and recognized him as the last custodian of Maximilian Kolbe's life and works. 

He died in 1982 at the nursing home of "La Francescana". 

VENERABLE WENANTY (VENANCE) KATARZYNIEC

​Born in 1888, Obydowie near Lviv, he was the son of Agnieszka and Jan Katarzyniec, very poor but pious farmers. As a child the "young apostle" preached to children "sermons" in which he said that you must be good, do not hurt others, do not sin, because sins offend God. He  he did not take part in "expeditions" on other people's apples or turnips, but he chased his peers for this and advised them to learn morality, for which he was often ridiculed.

Józef Katarzyniec entered the Franciscan Conventual Order in 1908, receiving the religious name of Wenanty. He studied philosophy and theology at the seminary of Krakow and was ordained in 1914.  He was assigned as parochial vicar at Czyszkach near Lviv, between 1915 and 1919,  and later served as master of the Franciscan novitiate of Lviv.

He loved the Franciscan order with all his heart. Purity shone on his face and he loved poverty and mortification. He studied philosophy and theology at a seminary in Cracow. He was the forerunner in science. He was able to present the most difficult things on the exams and tutoring, which he willingly gave to his friends, clearly and intelligibly.

One of St. Maximilian Kolbe's closest friends; after his early death the saint himself prayed for the intercession of Fr. Wenanty when trying to get 'The Knight' published and further petitioned for the canonization of his humble friend to the Minister General.

Fr. Wenanty had a passion for history and culture, starting a Franciscan history club while in the seminary called 'Zealous Franciscans'. He endured with patient suffering in prayer and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, entrusting his worries to the Immaculate Virgin Mary. He died at the age of thirty-one.

His cause for beatification was introduced in 1950. Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of his decrees, declaring him venerable on June 14, 2016.

*  The Militia of the Immaculate Conception is an international public association of faithful of the Catholic Church founded by St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe in 1917, open to Catholics from all walks of life, encouraging all people of good will to live a relationship of filial trust with Our Lady. The Militia of the Immaculate Conception aims to help the Christian to live a continuous process of conversion and following of the Lord on the model of the Immaculate Virgin.