Monsignor Giuseppe Placido Maria Nicolini

O.S.B. , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

(1877–1973), born Villazzano, Italy, was the Roman Catholic

Bishop of Assisi The Italian Catholic Diocese of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino ( la, Dioecesis Assisiensis-Nucerina-Tadinensis) in Umbria, has existed since 1986. In that year the historic Diocese of Assisi, known as the birthplace of Francis of Assisi, was ...

from 1928 until 1973. Prior to serving as Bishop, he was ordained as a Benedictine priest in 1899 and was appointed Abbot of Santissima Trinità di Cava de’ Tirreni, Italy in 1919. During World War II, he established the

Assisi Network The Assisi Network was an underground network in Italy established by Catholic clergy to protect Jews during the Nazi Occupation. The churches, monasteries, and convents of Assisi served as a safe haven for several hundred Jews. General Histor ...

which provided shelter to hundreds of Jews.

Rescue of Jews

When the Nazis began rounding up Jews during the Nazi Occupation of Italy, Nicolini ordered Father Aldo Brunacci to lead a rescue operation, which became known as the Assisi Network. Nicolini authorized the hiding of Jews in places that were regularly closed to outsiders by monastic regulations and his "Committee of Assistance" transformed Assisi into a shelter for many Jews, while assisting others to pass safely through the town to other places of safety. Sheltering places were arranged in 26 monasteries and convents, and false papers for transit were provided. Nicolini was recognized as

Righteous among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( he, חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, ; "righteous (plural) of the world's nations") is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to sav ...

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

in 1977.Assisi Network
published by

Giuseppe Placido Nicolini
– his activity to save Jews' lives during the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

, at Yad Vashem website

References

External links

Giuseppe Placido Nicolini
– his activity to save Jews' lives during the

, at

website Catholic resistance to Nazi Germany Catholic Righteous Among the Nations Italian Righteous Among the Nations Bishops in Umbria 1877 births 1973 deaths Italian Benedictines People from Trento 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops {{Italy-RC-bishop-stub