Grand Rapids Right to Life sponsored a private screening of the powerful new film Triumph of the Heart, the true story of Maximilian Kolbe and his companions’ triumph over the darkness of Auschwitz.
Held at Celebration! Cinema North, two theaters were sold out days before the event was hosted on Thursday, February 12. Attendees included couples, college students, friends of all ages, and new supporters.
The dramatic movie recounts the life of Kolbe, a Catholic priest, who agrees to join nine men condemned to die by the Nazis in a starvation bunker. As despair and fear grip the group, the pressures of starvation and internal ideological divisions mount. Throughout, Kolbe appeals to their shared humanity to form a brotherhood that illuminates hope during one of history’s darkest moments.
Maximilian Kolbe was a Renaissance man — a friar, a founder, a creator. He built a thriving friary, launched a magazine that reached millions, pioneered advancements in modern press technology, and even organized the first public fire station run by a religious order.
When the film ended, all in attendance quietly exited the theater. The normal conversations and jubilant mingling were replaced with a weighty silence that demonstrated the impact of this profound film.