October 3, 2025 // Diocese

ND Grad Shares Experiences of ‘Triumph of the Heart’

Eileen Bond

Inside an old prison in Warsaw, Poland, Lauren Abeyta stood among her fellow crew members clutching a coat for an older, shivering actor. She held onto it so he could warm up between takes. But that wasn’t her only role on the set of the recently released film “Triumph of the Heart” about St. Maximilian Kolbe and his companions overcoming the darkness of Auschwitz during World War II.

Abeyta, who lives and works in architecture and film in South Bend, described her job as a production assistant on the film as simply “boots on the ground” to do whatever tasks needed done to help production move smoothly.

The story of Abeyta’s involvement in the film began in July of 2021 when she served as mission director for the Sisters of Life and helped to lead a summer pilgrimage with the women’s religious order. She became close with one of the sisters of the order, Sister Maris Stella, as well their Polish tour guide, Dagmara, who helped them travel through Poland. A few years later, as a graduate student studying abroad in Rome with Notre Dame’s School of Architecture, Abeyta met up with the two of them in Rome to catch up.

“The three of us met in St. Peter’s Square, and it started this whole thing,” Abeyta, a parishioner at St. Matthew Cathedral in South Bend, told Today’s Catholic. 

During her fall break, Abeyta decided to fly to Poland to stay with Dagmara. While in Warsaw, Abeyta heard from a friend from her hometown in Colorado who invited Abeyta to the set, saying the production crew was in need of extras for the film.

“I didn’t hear from her for a while, and I thought she was too big for me,” Abeyta joked.

A few months later, Abeyta was again invited to the set – this time, to be a production assistant.

“I thought it was crazy; I had work to do” Abeyta recalled. “But I talked to my professors, and they gave me the time off. … With my last 300 euro, as a graduate student, I flew out to set.”

The film begins at the end of St. Maximilian Kolbe’s life, when he sacrifices himself to save a man while imprisoned in Auschwitz during World War II. He stood, horrified, as 10 men were sentenced to die in a starvation bunker. When a man condemned to die cried out about his wife and children, Kolbe stepped forward and offered himself instead. Kolbe did not fear death, he anticipated it. He set his gaze on heaven and let that guide him through the toughest part of his life. This is what inspired writer and director Anthony D’Ambrosio to create the film.

“God equips the called,” Abeyta said, “and Anthony was willing to put everything out there. It was already a work of love and a work of art.” 

Being faced with a terrible fate – starvation to the point of death – Kolbe spent his time accompanying his fellow inmates who were suffering alongside him. He did not desert them in his own desperation; he was not indifferent to their suffering. Instead, he inspired hope in a place of disgust and despair. After two long and devastating weeks in the starvation cell, all died except for Kolbe. The guards at the camp were forced to give him a lethal injection, and he died on August 14, 1941. 

“I feel drawn to Max Kolbe,” Abeyta said. “I loved him before,” but after watching his spirit be portrayed on the film set, she said she felt “a special friendship – and maybe even a patronage or apprenticeship” to Kolbe.

On Kolbe’s August 14 feast day last year, Abeyta called her friend from production and was invited to join the post-production crew as the film’s development and screenings coordinator, helping to connect people interested in screening the film or investing in it. Only a year later, they were premiering the film in Poland.

“It honestly moves me to tears how much everyone poured into the work,” Abeyta said, “and I think people see that [when watching the film].” 

Kolbe famously once said, “Without sacrifice, there is no love.” Abeyta said this message – especially in a world plagued by violence and oppression – is much needed right now. 

“Triumph of the Heart” is gaining momentum with audiences throughout the world. Those in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend can check local theaters for showtimes, or visit the film’s website, triumphoftheheart.com, to search for private screenings.

When asked about the next steps for “Triumph of the Heart,” Abeyta said she can’t wait to see herself. After working on the film, Abeyta said it’s become even more clear to her that society must see that our similarities are far greater than our differences.

“It’s never been more important to put ourselves aside and be brave,” she said, emphasizing that Kolbe has a special message within his story, and that while there are so many themes within the film, the one thing she keeps reflecting on is Kolbe’s clarity and action. “He would just pray and give things to Our Lady and then go and perform them no matter how strange or difficult it seemed at the time.”

The message Abeyta wants others to receive from the film is that we are all made by God for something greater.

“You’re immensely loved,” Abeyta said. “You’re absolutely unrepeatable, and you’re like absolutely intended for glorious ends.”