On December 30, 1943, the following message was sent to Pius XII:
With profound gratitude, the Israelite families, fraternally sheltered by the Institute of Our
Lady of Zion, turn their moved thoughts to Your Holiness, who deigned to show them a new
proof of benevolence. And while they express their gratitude for the attentive response to the
call for help not in vain directed to Your Christian charity, they wish above all to show their
confi dence and faith for the spiritual comfort received from the Apostolic Blessing paternally
imparted to them.
Des familles juives au pape Pie XII, December 30, 1943, Actes et Documents, vol. 9, p. 636, no. 490 (Jewish
families thank Pope Pius XII)
Th e Pope’s eff orts on behalf of Jewish people were beginning to be noticed. On November 5, the Catholic
Review ran a story on the Pope’s eff orts to protect Jewish people in Rome, under the title “Holy See is Eager
to Rescue Hebrews,” Rabbi Morris S. Lazaron, writing in the Baltimore Synagogue Bulletin, affi rmed that “the
Pope has condemned anti-Semitism and all its works. Bishops of the Church have appeared in the streets . . .
with the Shield of David on their arms . . . Indeed, many priests and ministers have been jailed and not a few
killed in their eff ort to protect Jews.”
As reported on Christmas Day by Th e Tablet (London), Rabbi Lazaron went on to quote the Pope’s
condemnation of anti-Semitism, and the action taken by bishops and priests throughout occupied Europe
to protect Jews “driven like animals” from their homes. “Th ey have shielded and healed them at the risk of
their own lives, and indeed many priests have been killed and not a few killed in their eff ort. But it is more
than a mere reciprocal gesture which prompts our prayers for His Holiness. We can place ourselves in the
position of our Catholic friends . . . We link our prayers with theirs. May God protect and keep His Holiness
in strength and all good.”
Chief Rabbi Zolli of Rome reported:
No hero in history has commanded such an army; an army of priests works in cities and small towns to
provide bread for the persecuted and passports for the fugitives. Nuns go into canteens to give hospitality to
women refugees. Superiors of convents go out into the night to meet German soldiers who look for victims . . .
Pius XII is followed by all with the fervor of that charity that fears no death.
– Courtesy of Ronald Rychlak
Hitler, the War, and the Pope
Source: Pope Pius XII and World War II: The Documented Truth