On the evening of October 16, 1917 (First Vespers of the Feast of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, Saint of the Sacred Heart), Saint Maximilian and six Franciscan friars erected the first company of the new army of Mary with the hope in the divine promise Gen 3:15 “ipsa conteret caput tuum.”

What is so significant about this date?

Well just three days before, the Blessed Virgin Mary made her first apparition to the three children Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta in Fatima, Portugal.

The great Marian movement founded by Saint Maximilian Kolbe and the message of Fatima are linked in their origins.