Pierre-Marie Théas was a French Roman Catholic Bishop of Montauban and Bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes. A significant figure in Catholic resistance to Nazism in France, he was recognised as Righteous among the Nations by Yad Vashem for his efforts to protect Jews from the Nazi Holocaust.
Jules-Géraud Saliège was a French Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Toulouse from 1928 until his death, and was a significant figure in Catholic resistance to Nazism in France. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1946 by Pope Pius XII. For his efforts to protect Jews during the Nazi Holocaust he was recognised as Righteous among the Nations by Yad Vashem.
Carlo Chiarlo was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as nuncio to several countries, mostly Latin American, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958.
Giuseppe Fietta was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1924 to 1958, including a stint as Apostolic Nuncio to Argentina from 1936 to 1953. He was made a cardinal in 1958.
Pope Pius XII's response to the Roman razzia, or mass deportation of Jews, on October 16, 1943 is a significant issue relating to Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust. Under Mussolini, no policy of abduction of Jews had been implemented in Italy. Following the capitulation of Italy in 1943, Nazi forces invaded and occupied much of the country, and began deportations of Jews to extermination camps. Pius XII protested at diplomatic levels, while several thousand Jews found refuge in Catholic networks, institutions and homes across Italy, including in Vatican City and Pope Pius' Summer Residence. The Catholic Church and some historians have credited this rescue in large part to the direction of Pope Pius XII. However, historian Susan Zuccotti researched the matter in detail and discovered that although the pope was aware of the Holocaust, he did not issue a rescue order. Zuccotti states that there is "considerable evidence of papal disapproval of the hiding of Jews and other fugitives in Vatican properties."
Andrea Cassulo was an archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church and a representative of the Holy See in Egypt, Canada, Romania and Turkey from 1921 to 1952. A significant figure in Catholic resistance to Nazism, for his efforts to protect Jews during the Nazi Holocaust, Cassulo was accorded the title of "Righteous among the nations by Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust memorial.
The Apostolic Nunciature to Pakistan is an ecclesiastical office of the Catholic Church in Pakistan. It is a diplomatic post of the Holy See, whose representative is called the Apostolic Nuncio with the rank of an ambassador.
The Raoul Wallenberg Emlékpark in the rear courtyard of the Dohány Street Synagogue holds the Memorial of the Hungarian Jewish Martyrs — at least 400,000 Hungarian Jews were murdered by the Nazis. Made by Imre Varga, it resembles a weeping willow whose leaves bear inscriptions with the names of victims. There is also a memorial to Wallenberg and other Righteous Among the Nations, among them: Swiss Vice-consul Carl Lutz; Ángel Sanz Briz, the Spanish Ambassador in Hungary; Giorgio Perlasca, an Italian man who, with a strategic escamotage, declared himself the Spanish consul, releasing documents of protection and current passports to Jews in Budapest without distinction ; Mons. Angelo Rotta, an Italian Prelate Bishop and Apostolic Nuncio of the State of Vatican City in Budapest, which issued protective sheets, misrepresentations of baptism and Vatican passports to Jews, without distinction of any kind present in Budapest, who saved, with his secretary Mons. Gennaro Verolino tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews during World War II.
Giuseppe Ramiro Marcone was a Benedictine Abbott. He was ordained in 1906 and appointed Abbot of Montevergine, Italy in 1918. He served an Apostolic Visitor to Croatia during World War II, in which capacity he worked on behalf of the Holy See for the protection of Croatian Jews.
The Apostolic Nunciature to Indonesia is a diplomatic position within the Vatican, equivalent to an embassy. It is located at Jalan Merdeka Timur 18, Jakarta-Pusat.
Catholic resistance to Nazi Germany was a component of German resistance to Nazism and of Resistance during World War II. The role of the Church during the Nazi years was always, and remains however, a matter of much contention. Many writers, echoing Klaus Scholder, have concluded, "There was no Catholic resistance in Germany, there were only Catholics who resisted." The Vatican policy meant that the Pope never challenged Catholics to side either with National Socialism or with Catholic morality, and Pius XII was so adamant that Bolshevism represented the most terrible threat to the world that he remarked, 'Germany are a great nation who, in their fight against Bolshevism, are bleeding not only for their friends but also for the sake of their present enemies'. In a letter of autumn 1941 Pius XII wrote to Bishop Preysing, "We emphasise that, because the Church in Germany is dependent upon your public behaviour...in public declarations you are duty bound to exercise restraint" and "requires(d) you and your colleagues not to protest."
During the Holocaust, the Catholic Church played a role in the rescue of hundreds of thousands of Jews from being murdered by the Nazis. Members of the Church, through lobbying of Axis officials, provision of false documents, and the hiding of people in monasteries, convents, schools, among families and the institutions of the Vatican itself, saved hundreds of thousands of Jews. The Israeli diplomat and historian Pinchas Lapide estimated the figure at between 700,000 and 860,000, although the figure is contested.
Gennaro Verolino was a Roman Catholic bishop and a diplomat for the Holy See.
Tibor Baranski was a Hungarian-American man credited with saving more than 3,000 Hungarian Jewish women, men and children from the Nazis during the Holocaust.
The Apostolic Nunciature to Turkey is an ecclesiastical office of the Catholic Church in Turkey. It is a diplomatic post of the Holy See, whose representative is called the Apostolic Nuncio with the rank of an ambassador.
Francesco Lardone was an Italian-born prelate of the Catholic Church who became a U.S. citizen in 1937. He taught for 25 years at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and then served in the diplomatic service of the Holy See as an Apostolic Nuncio and archbishop. He played a key role in arranging for bishops from the Communist-led countries of Eastern Europe to attend the Second Vatican Council.
Maurilio Silvani was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who devoted his entire career to the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He became an archbishop in 1936 and served as an Apostolic Nuncio from 1936 until his death.
Luigi Punzolo was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See for thirty years. He became an archbishop in 1955 and served as Apostolic Nuncio until 1967. He spent another ten years as a diocesan administrator.
Lorenzo Schioppa was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He became an archbishop in 1920 and served as Apostolic Nuncio in Hungary, the Netherlands, and Lithuania.
