The sign of recognition will be unveiled today at the headquarters of the Franciscan Missionaries of Maria in Florence, and others will be affixed by the Capuchins and the Brigidine in Rome.
The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation (IRWF) celebrates Christian sites that welcomed Jews persecuted by the Nazis.
There are the buildings that saw stories of rescue in silence, behind their gates.
There are locations that – for the vast majority of people – kept secrets for seventy years. There are places that were considered religious places, since their origins, -like convents, churches, seminaries, institutes- , and should be considered sacred because their classrooms, their rooms, their attics, protected human lives taking them away from certain death. It happened in Italy occupied by the Germans at the time of the racial laws. Not to forget the meaning of these shelters, often opened by clergy men and women of the Catholic Church to the “big brothers”. These new deeds that recover pieces of stories, individual and collective memories can turn stones into symbols. It’s not just placing a plate in this or that place with our renewed feelings of gratitude; it is remembering the flames lit by the Righteous or by other anonymous human beings in times of darkness.
This is the meaning we give to the unveiling of the commemorative plaque that will be placed today, at 4.00 P.M. in the Casa Santo Nome di Gesù, headquarters of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary located in Piazza del Carmine, Florence. It will be honored as a “House of Life”, in memory of what happened there. We remember the acts of courage of Mother Superior Sandra Busnelli and other sisters who responded to the call of Archbishop Dalla Costa and hid Jewish people protecting them from the Nazi fury (until November 27, 1943, when a group of Nazis irrupted inside the building, captured a few dozens of women, including many children, and deported them to the death camps).
Another ceremony of recognition will take place in Rome on Sunday, November 23 at the Curia General of the Capuchins building in Via Piemonte, in memory of the courage of Father Benoit, a French priest then resident near the International College of the Capuchins in Via Sicilia where he held his operation. Not far from there, the Delegazione Assistenza Emigranti Ebrei, “Delegation for the Assistance of Jewish Emigrants” a resistance Jewish organization operating between 1939 and 1947 for the distribution of financial aid to the persecuted Jews, had its operation center and was also supported by non-Jews. The Brigidine Convent in Rome will also be honored as a “House of Life” later on.
The ceremonies will follow during 2015 in other churches and convents, schools and public buildings as well as private houses, not only in Italy but also in Hungary, the Netherlands, France and Poland.
The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation is a non-governmental organization whose mission is to develop educational programs and public campaigns that promote the moral legacy of those who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust, and “to honor the Righteous of all genocides”, promotes the initiative “Houses of Life”.
This well-documented educational program echoes the commitment of many religious clergy who offered shelter to thousands of Jews, asking nothing in return.
Baruch Tenembaum is the founder of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation, named after the Swedish diplomat who saved 100,000 Jews during the Holocaust. One of the founders of the IRWF is Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now Pope Francis.
“Seventy years after the end of World War II, “Houses of Life” is a proper tribute to those who have risked their lives for others, but is also an example of great educational value, “- affirmed President of the NGO Eduardo Eurnekian.
