Père Marie-Benoît (

Anglicized Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

, Father Mary Benedict; in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, known as Padre Maria Benedetto; 30 March 1895 – 5 February 1990) was born Pierre Péteul. As a Capuchin Franciscan friar he helped smuggle approximately 4,000

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

s into safety from Nazi-occupied

Southern France Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...

. On 1 December 1966, he was honored with the Medal of the Righteous among the Nations for his courage and self-sacrifice. His actions to save Jews during

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

were the reason for his

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

''Father of the Jews'' ().

Life before World War II

Born Pierre Péteul, Father Marie-Benoît served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

, and was wounded at

Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...

. He received the distinction of five citations and the

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

. After the war he joined the Franciscan Capuchin Order and earned a doctorate in

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. In 1940 he returned to France and became a priest stationed in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

Actions in wartime

In Marseille

In Marseille in 1940, he found thousands of refugees trying to escape the horrors of World War II. He was determined to help them because, in his own words,

We
Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...
claim to be spiritual children of the patriarch
Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...
. This should be enough reason to exclude any kind of
anti-Semitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
whatsoever, anti-Semitism being an ideology which we Christians cannot in any way share and be part of.

Father Marie-Benoît's operation focused on finding ways to successfully smuggle

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

out of an increasingly hostile France. Marie-Benoît transformed the Capuchin monastery in Marseille, at 51 Rue de la Croix de Régnier, into his first headquarters. There he organized a massive forging operation, installing and improvising printing facilities to create fake

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign country, access local aid ...

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

certificates, and other documents that aided hundreds of refugees in crossing the border to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. This was often done with the collaboration of Jewish organizations and members of the

French resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

. In November 1942, the Nazis had occupied France's Free Zone, which included Marseille. This precluded the option of helping Jews escape to Switzerland and Spain. Accordingly, Father Benoît turned his attention to the Riviera and

Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie () is a Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its Prefectures in France, prefecture is Annecy. To the north is Lake Gene ...

, occupied by the

Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...

In Nice

Traveling to

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Specifically, he met with Guido Lospinoso, the Italian commissioner of Jewish affairs, whom

Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his overthrow in 194 ...

had sent at the Germans' insistence. Father Benoît persuaded Lospinoso to refrain from action against the 30,000 Jews who lived in the vicinity of Nice. Also in Nice, Father Benoît met Angelo Donati, a Jewish

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

and director of the French-Italian Bank of Credit. Donati had a plan to transport over the Italien Jews to

by boat. However, in order to approach the Italian authorities, he needed the cooperation of the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

In Rome

In July 1943, Father Benoît traveled to Rome to seek the help of

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

in transferring Jews to northern Africa. A meeting was arranged between Father Benoît and the pope. When Father Benoit explained that the police in

Vichy France Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...

were acting against the Jews, Pius XII was surprised, saying, "Who could ever expect this from noble France?" He promised to diligently deal with the situation. However, the North African plan was eventually foiled when the Germans occupied northern Italy and the Italian-occupied zone of France. Father Marie-Benoît returned briefly to France in order to carry out "the Spanish part of his plan". With authority from the

Spanish government The government of Spain () is the central government which leads the executive branch and the General State Administration of the Kingdom of Spain. The Government consists of the Prime Minister and the Ministers; the prime minister has the o ...

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

to decide which French Jews qualified as being of Spanish descent, he managed to save another 2,600 people; there is no record of how many of them actually had any Spanish blood. Upon the urging of his friends, Father Marie-Benoît disappeared from France and resurfaced in Rome as Padre Benedetti. One of his hiding places was commemorated by the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation, a non-governmental organization which researches Holocaust rescuers and advocates for their recognition. House of life

He was elected to the board of DELASEM (''Delegazione Assistenza Emigranti Ebrei'': "Delegation for the Assistance of Jewish Emigrants"), the central Jewish welfare organization in Italy of which he eventually became president. Marie-Benoît transferred the DELASEM headquarters to the International College of the Capuchins, and inaugurated an operation to forge documents there. His office was raided several times by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

, early in 1945, with the arrest, torture, and execution of most of the rest of the DELASEM leadership, Father Benoît was persuaded to go into hiding. Against everyone's expectations, he actually survived the war.

Recognition

When Rome was liberated in June 1944, the Jewish community—led by Rabbi Israel Zoller—held an official

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

ceremony in honor of Father Benoît, "shower nghim with praise." Years later,

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...

delivered a speech in which he said that Father Benoît's "wonderful actions" should "inspire the American people in the protection and preservation of the rights of citizens, irrespective of race, color or religion." On 1 December 1966,

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

officially recognized Father Benoit as a

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...

. Overall, he helped thousands of Jews to reach Switzerland and Spain from the South of France, or escape by other means. Even while pursued by the Gestapo, he escaped to Rome, where he continued his efforts for the Jews.

References and notes

External links

Père Marie-Benoît

La Fondation Wallenberg fait mémoire d’un religieux français qui a sauvé des milliers de juifs
*Zuccotti, Susan
Père Marie-Benoît and Jewish Rescue
Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2013.

– his activity to save Jews' lives during the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

, at

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Marie-Benoit Capuchins French Righteous Among the Nations 1895 births 1990 deaths People from Maine-et-Loire French military personnel of World War I Catholic Righteous Among the Nations