Our Story
The aim of the Militia of the Immaculata (M.I.) is to win the whole world for Christ through the Immaculata, Mother of God and of the Church.
The Militia of the Immaculata was founded in Rome on 16 October 1917 by Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe, OFM Conv. and six of his Conventual Franciscan confreres. St. Maximilian envisioned the M.I. as ‘a global vision of Catholic life in a new form, consisting in the bond with the Immaculata, our universal Mediatrix before Jesus’ (Kolbe Writings 1220).
More than a century later, the M.I. is a thriving International Public Association of the Faithful under the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life. It unites clergy, consecrated persons, and laity in giving themselves completely to the Immaculata for their own sanctification and in collaboration with Mary’s maternal mission to direct the hearts of all towards Jesus Christ.
Our Spirituality
At the heart of the M.I. is a simple invitation to Marian consecration: entrusting oneself completely to the Immaculata for one’s sanctification and for the salvation of all. Once consecrated to Mary, members follow the Immaculata by listening to the Holy Spirit’s inspiration on how to live out this gift of consecration.
All members of the M.I. are missionaries for Christ after the example of Mary. In recognizing that the true missionary is committed to the way of holiness, the M.I. spirituality affirms the pre-eminence of the interior life, according to a principle dear to St. Maximilian: ‘Dedicate yourself completely to your own spiritual life, so that you may give yourself completely to all by way of overabundance’ (Kolbe Writings 980).
M.I. members live out their mission through their ordinary activities and in the various sectors of society in which they are immersed. Everywhere they are called to the faithful and joyful living out of the truths of the Catholic faith, promoting the protection of life from conception to natural death, offering themselves in service to the integral dignity of the person, and setting forth the values of fraternity, justice and solidarity.
Knights at the Foot of the Cross
Those whose lives are marked by the carrying of the cross of suffering (in body, mind, or spirit) can choose to enrol in the M.I. as a Knight at the Foot of the Cross. These Marian knights form a spiritual powerhouse of prayer within the Association.
In uniting their sufferings with those of our Sorrowful Mother at the foot of the Cross, these Knights consecrate their daily prayers and trials to the Immaculata, for the success of the M.I., for the salvation of souls, and that all people might come to know, love, and serve Christ our Lord and Saviour.
In the heroic example of St. Maximilian who, despite the horrors of the Nazis and the sufferings he endured in Auschwitz at their hands, persevered in redeeming charity until the end, the Knights have a most wonderful role model to follow. In giving his life to save another prisoner, St. Maximilian imitated Jesus whom he loved with all his heart. Through the Knights’ consecration to the Immaculata, their offering up of their own suffering draws the entire Association into the redemptive mystery of Christ and renews its missionary thrust.
For information on how to join the Knights at the Foot of the Cross, click here.