Editing Maximilian Kolbe (section)

==Early life==
Raymund Kolbe was born on 8 January 1894 in [[Zduńska Wola]], in the [[Congress Poland|Kingdom of Poland]], which was then part of the [[Russian Empire]]. He was the second son of [[Weaver (occupation)|weaver]] Julius Kolbe and [[Midwifery|midwife]] Maria Dąbrowska.<ref name="psb296"/> His father was an [[ethnic German]],<ref name="Strzelecka1984"/> and his mother was [[Polish people|Polish]]. He had four brothers, two of whom died of tuberculosis. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to [[Pabianice]].<ref name="psb296"/>

Kolbe's life was strongly influenced in 1903, when he was 9, by a vision of the [[Virgin Mary]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dewar |first=Diana |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=39hsAAAAIAAJ |title=Saint of Auschwitz: The Story of Maximilian Kolbe |date=1982 |publisher=Harper & Row |isbn=978-0-06-061901-5 |pages=115 |language=en}}</ref> He later described this incident:

<blockquote>That night I asked the Mother of God what was to become of me. Then she came to me holding two crowns, one white, the other red. She asked me if I was willing to accept either of these crowns. The white one meant that I should persevere in purity and the red that I should become a martyr. I said that I would accept them both.<ref name="ArmstrongPeterson2010-50"/></blockquote>