Auschwitz friar dies

A FRANCISCAN friar who was a friend of Blessed Maximilian Kolbe when they were both prisoners in Auschwitz concentration camp, has died in A mprica. Polish-born Brother Stanley Maria Kolowski. a Capuchin, had to flee first from the Russian invaders of Poland in 1939, when he was a seminarian. and then from the Nazis when they began to arrest all Capuchins.
After taking refuge at Mariampol and becoming involved in an underground news paper, he was sent to Auschwitz. It was there he met Fr Maximilian Kolbe, who offered his life to save another prisoner.
Brother Kolowski later said: "It was there I found the real meaning of life. I received my spiritual confirmation there." He was transferred to other camps and was about to be gassed when the American army arrived.
After the war, he made his way to the United States, contacted other Capuchins who had survived concentration camps and rejoined his order.