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Triumph of the Heart at Knock Shrine

Council 105

22 October 2026

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Two men face each other closely in a prison yard. On the left, an older man with a shaven head and round glasses, in a blue and white striped prisoner's uniform; on the right, a younger man in the dark cap and uniform of an SS officer. Prisoners stand in the haze behind them.

St Maximilian Kolbe in a still from Triumph of the Heart, the film shown at Knock on 22 October 2026.

On the evening of Thursday 22 October 2026, the Brothers of CK105 Claremorris brought Triumph of the Heart, the film of the passion of St Maximilian Kolbe, to St John's Centre at Knock Shrine. Refreshments were served before the screening, and those who came had the chance to meet and talk before the film began.

A darkened hall seen from the back: rows of people seated on either side of a central aisle face a lit screen on a stage at the far end, under a tiled ceiling.
The hall at St John's Centre during the screening

The film

Triumph of the Heart tells the story of St Maximilian Kolbe: his faith, his courage, and the life he gave for another man at Auschwitz. It is a reflection on how faith and human dignity can triumph even in immense darkness and suffering.

St Maximilian Kolbe

Raymund Kolbe was born at Zduńska Wola, in Poland, in 1894, and joined the Conventual Franciscans, taking the name Maximilian. In 1941 he was sent to Auschwitz. That summer, when ten men were chosen to die by starvation and one of them, Franciszek Gajowniczek, cried out for his family, Kolbe stepped forward and asked to take his place. He was killed on 14 August 1941. Pope John Paul II canonised him in 1982 as a martyr of charity, and his feast is kept on 14 August.

Our thanks

Our thanks to the Brothers of CK105 for the evening, and to all who came to St John's Centre.

Photograph: CK105 Claremorris.

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