Saint Kolbe Memorial Museum, at Hongouchi Church

Father Maximilian Kolbe was born in Poland in 1894 and was a priest of the

Conventual Franciscans. He was active in promoting the veneration of the

Immaculate Virgin Mary.

He arrived in Japan in 1930, where he began educating seminarians and

publishing a monthly magazine titled “The Knight of the Immaculata.

” Following this, as more Japanese people came to understand God’s

teachings, Hongochi Church was established in 1931.

After six years in Japan, he returned to Poland due to poor health. Later,

during World War II, he volunteered to die in place of a stranger named

Franciszek Gajowniczek at the Auschwitz concentration camp in

German-occupied Poland.

The Saint Kolbe Memorial Museum was built in 1986 to commemorate

his canonization.