August 14, 1941. Fr. Maximilian Kolbe, a
Franciscan Conventual Friar, was dying in the Nazi
concentration camp of Auschwitz, Poland, after having offered
spontaneously his own life to spare that of a fellow prisoner
condemned to death in the starvation bunker. Kolbe was
eventually killed by a lethal injection and his body was burned
in the crematorium. However, the Nazis were not able to
suppress the great treasure of his spiritual and apostolic
legacy. From his ashes, scattered in the wind, his life witness
of an unconditional love for others continued to spread
throughout the world.
In 1954, inspired and drawn by the riches
of St. Maximilian Kolbe’s spiritual doctrine, a fellow
Franciscan, Fr. Luigi M. Faccenda, OFM CONV., founded our
consecrated Family, the Fr. Kolbe Missionaries of the
Immaculata, in Bologna, Italy. Today the Institute is made up
of Missionaries – consecrated women and, as of 1997, men
– and Volunteers of the Immaculata – associate lay
or clerical members who strive for evangelical perfection by
sharing in the spirituality and mission of our Institute.
On March 25, 1992, we received the
ecclesial approval as a Secular Institute of pontifical right.
“Extending a hand to all and leading
all men to God through the Immaculata is a mission worth
living, working, suffering, and even dying for.”
-St. Maximilian Kolbe
Total consecration to the Immaculata is the
core spirituality of our consecrated and missionary life. Our
desire is to make the presence of Mary visible in the world and
to live out the Gospel in her footprints, in every situation in
which we are called to work. After her example, we feel called
to always be on a journey/mission in order to share the Gospel
of life and love with men and women of our times, and so be a
sign of hope to them and with them.
OUR CALL
By the grace of God we have received a
special calling to live the fullness of Baptism in a secular
condition and to strive for sanctity. We choose to follow
Christ poor, chaste, and obedient for all our life long, by
means of the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience
recognized by the Church and the total offering of ourselves to
the Immaculata.
Belonging to the Institute may be expressed
in a variety of forms. As consecrated women, we may live either
in our family of origin, or alone, or in groups of fraternal
life in the Houses of the Immaculata.
Prayer is the inner strength, support, and
nourishment of our lives. At least three hours of our days are
set apart for our personal encounter with God. Daily prayer,
the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, meditation on the Word of God,
and an intense Marian devotion help us to live out those
evangelical values to which we wish to give witness.
Every day we renew the total offering of
ourselves to the Immaculata:
“O Immaculate Virgin,
our Queen and most loving Mother,
accept my prayer of consecration.
I offer to you my whole being and my entire
life,
with all that I have, all that I love, and
all that I am:
my body, my heart, and my soul.
Make me understand God’s will in my
life.
Guide me to rediscover every day
the gift of my Marian and missionary
vocation in all its wonder
and to know the secrets of your
love…”
Our life of fraternal communion benefits
from frequent meetings at the Houses of the Immaculata. There
we endeavor to recreate the atmosphere of the Cenacle, before
and after Pentecost, as we strive with Mary, to live the
experience of the Church persevering in prayer, animated by
communion, and open to mission.
