Introduction

The Militia of the Immaculata (MI) is a worldwide evangelization movement founded by Saint Maximilian Kolbe in 1917 that encourages total consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary as a means of spiritual renewal for individuals and society.

The MI movement is open to all Catholics. It employs prayer as the main weapon in the spiritual battle with evil. Members also immerse themselves in apostolic initiatives throughout society, either individually or in groups, to deepen knowledge of the Gospel and our Catholic faith in themselves and others.

History

The Militia of the Immaculata began on October 16, 1917, around a table at the Conventual Franciscan seminary in Rome. Maximilian Kolbe gathered together six like-minded young friars before a statue of the Blessed Virgin and drafted a charter that would establish one of the most influential Marian apostolates ever. The charter still serves as the blueprint of spiritual progress for MI members today.

Since these humble beginnings, the MI has spread throughout the world and is today present on five continents and in 46 nations. Official membership now nears four million.

In 1922, the movement was canonically established as a Pious Union of the Faithful and in 1926 Pope Pius XI elevated it to the status of a Primary Union. Today, the MI falls under the direction of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Laity and was highly endorsed by Pope Saint John Paul II. In 1981, he noted, “membership in the MI means complete dedication to the Kingdom of God and to the salvation of souls through Mary Immaculate.”

With the approval by the Pontifical Council for the Laity on October 16, 1997, of the MI’s updated International Governing Statues, the MI was given the privileged status of an “international public association,” shared by only three other Catholic organizations at that time.

During his lifetime, St. Maximilian Kolbe founded Cities of the Immaculata in Poland and Japan to serve as centers of Marian-Franciscan evangelization for the movement. He employed mass media, especially the printed word, to spread the ideals of the MI and to encourage others to consecrate themselves to Our Lady. Despite his death as a martyr of charity in 1941, the movement counties to expand and several religious communities and institutes have sprung from the spiritual legacy initiated in 1917.

Source: consecration.com