Father Marie-Benoit

The father Marie-Benoit , Pierre Péteul (1895-1990) is born the March 30th 1895, with the Bourg of Anger (Maine-et-Loire), it is stretcher-bearer aspiring to the 15th Riflemen during the " Large Guerre" and the countryside of Morocco adds to its military experiment. Military Crosses and five quotations mark these years which made it familiar of the danger, the suffering and tested its courage and its resistance. Become capuchin, it is ordered priest and continues his studies, doctor of philosophy. Here the professor and spiritual director with the international College of its Kind in Rome. The Italian language and the biblical culture are from now on the one second nature.

The Second world war

Mobilized in 1939, it is found in Marseilles, in 1940 as interprets with the staff of the Billotte general with the 15th DI. It remains on the spot.

With the convent of the capuchins of Marseilles , 51 rue de la Croix de Régnier will be its first general headquarter. It helps of the Anglo-American aviators, the French and the allies continued by Gestapo. " Hardly arrived, an Jewish family in sorrow found me, then another… much of others.! " Thousands of false passports, certificates of baptism and other papers " aryens" left the presses installed in the cellars and, by their priceless help, of the hundreds of refugees could even cross the Spanish or Swiss border, in collaboration with the Jewish committees of Marseilles, Nice, Cannes. The father Marie-Benoit for had combined resistant French and the General union of the Jews of France, but it was to quickly become the object of the monitoring of Gestapo and when the German troops had invaded the free zone, the ways of the escape towards Spain or Switzerland are transfered condemned. The only practicable passage passed by Riviera and Haute-Savoie, held by perplexed and floating Italian quotas.

With Nice , the father Marie-Benoit succeeds in gaining the sympathy and the assistance of Italian civils servant, and with their assistance and of the funds emanating of the Jewish institutions, he managed to make pass from the thousands of Jews in zone of Italian occupation. It is in Nice that it meets Angelo Donati (Jewish bank manager Italian Franco-Italian of credit) which informs him of its splendid project: The transfer by boats of 30.000 Jews, the Italian coast towards North Africa. But for its realization, He hoped for the support of the Holy See near the Italian authorities. Before leaving France, it leaves to Lyon, meeting the Jewish authorities of the central Consistory of France where they are taken refuge, in order to speak on their behalf.

With Rome , " On my side, I had joined Rome and my station with the international College of the capuchins of the 156 of Via Cecilia. It was necessary to request the support of the Pie XII pope, near the Italian authorities " ; " on July 16th, 1943, I expose to Sovereign pontiff the Donati project… I speak about the attitude of the police force of Vichy, which causes the reflection of the Pope `One would not have believed that of France ` ".! In addition to the Donati project, it makes share with Sovereign pontiff of three projects, in particular the intervention of the pope near the Spanish authorities, to facilitate the repatriation of the Jews of Spanish nationality. " The pope says to me: " That interests me; I will occupy myself " of it;. The August 5th 1943 Mgr Jacques Martin confirms that papers of the P. Marie-Benoit are being studied, so of other explanations are necessary one will convene it. " I did not receive any mission of the Vatican, because I was unknown there. The secretary of the United States, and the embassy of England were taken refuge there. We went to find them, in hiding-place… "

the fall of Mussolini accelerates the reversal of situation in Italy, which becomes in its turn place of all the dangers to the Jews. German occupies the French zone. Later, little time before the Release, the Father came very close to catastrophe once more. On mission in the north of Italy, to find points of passage towards Switzerland, it was found in a bar in Milan with its assistant, Schwamm, in order to meet a person likely to help them. But it is an ambush organized by the fascistic police force. Schwamm is made stop, not without to have been able to discreetly inform the father, who manages to flee and go back to Rome. Denounced again, several times, and sought actively by Gestapo, the father finally had to hide out of his convent.

The September 8th 1943, is published the news of the armistice with the allies . The Germans are everywhere. The vast project of evacuation towards North Africa fails. But the father Marie Benoit, listening to only his courage, goes in the chief of Gestapo which promises not to intervene, provided that the Jews left Rome as soon as possible. By a pure trickery - the substitution of the identity papers - the capuchin made believe that all had left, whereas they even awaited the release in the city, under new identities.

The June 4th 1944 Rome was released - When the allies entered Rome and that Jewish crowd was thus, in front of the synagog, one did not succeed in any more finding the key, crowd was so confused, then in the middle of crowd appeared the Bendedetto father, which revealed where the key was.

Yad Vashem

the memorial of the heroes and the martyrs of Shoah places it among the first of RIGHT: " The monk capuchin Marie-Benoit helped of the hundreds of Jews to gain Switzerland and Spain starting from the South of France. Tracked by Gestapo, he flees in Rome where he continues his work of rescuer from his office with the college of the capuchins, of coordination with the Jewish social main organization (Delasem). Legendary character, it was called the " father of the juifs" by those which it sauva".

Put in residence to give an account of its action, the father precise: " I have a tree planted in the alley of Right, in Yad Vashem of Jerusalem. This tree does not represent to only me , it as well represents the courageous Jews with whom I fought and without which I would not have made large thing. I want to name: Joseph Andre Bass, Maurice Brener, Angelo Donati, Stéfan Schwamm, Settimo Serani, Giuseppe Levi, Aron Karsterstein. It is rather on their behalf that I want to speak… "

After the war

With the Conference of Seelisberg (1947) the father Marie-Benoit, and its fellow-member the P. Calixte represent the Church of Rome to confirm the new attitude of the Church towards the Jewish people, which will find his result in the Declaration Nostra Aetate §4 Concile Vatican II.

This convinced Christian, by his courage and his abnegation, as a true disciple of François d' Assise, will have thus succeeded in saving approximately 4.000 Jews. The February 5th 1990, the “father of the Jews” died out at the 94 years age. His/her 4.000 children remember!

Quotations

Its action corresponded perfectly to its intimate thought on the people of Israel, it will be explained some later:

the first reason, is of general order, is due to justice. The reign of Jesus-Christ who is a reign of love, is, because of that, a reign of Justice: who likes his next sincerely, respects initially his right to the life and can thus remain indifferent and passive in front of a persecution also atrocious only unjustified. The duty to intervene is then imperative.

But there is in more one major reason and specifically Christian woman with this intervention;

the Christians feel spiritual sons of the large Abraham patriarch. The pope Pie XI still affirmed it, on September 6th, 1938, by calling it " our Abraham patriarch, our elder in the foi". What would be enough to exclude any anti-semitism, movement to which, we Chrétiens, we cannot have any share, because by Jesus-Christ, we are descent of Abraham. It is him the Father of the believers, with whom we are indebted faith and confidence as a God, generous obedience with its Will, of our walk its involved.

the Christians have in common with the Juif people sublimates it doctrines of Brace according to which all the men are created with the image of God, are Sons of God, therefore brothers the one-of-others and called to live this fraternity in the observance of the mosaic Decalog. For more than thirty centuries this Decalog has remained the immutable and essential base of any human progress and the permanence of peace….Christians and Jews recite the same psalms contained in the Bible, which are the most beautiful prayers that the man ever could address to his Creator… Père of all.

The June 4th 1944, whereas crowd is in jubilation to celebrate the victory, in the presence of two rabbis of the allied armies.

I take share with the feelings of all, joy and pains frays; because if the release is a happy fact, much cry of the victims and the deportees still suffer with far. More than 2.000 Roman Jews were taken along. The foreigners, we all would have saved them without the infamous treason of the two young French. He finishes his speech by pointing out the great precept of Brace of the love of god and next, and launches pathetic: “I love the Jews of all my heart. ”… to add at once: “My mission of battle was finished”.

Sources

Book of gold of the French congregations DRAC, 1939-1945 - pp.305-351 and the development of the P. Marie-Benoit 1948 (Files Capuchins - Paris)
It ghettosul tevere of Samuel Waagennaar - Arnoldo Mandori - Edition 1973
Roll off Honor Dr. Arich L; BAUMINGER " YAD VASHEM Edition Jerusalem 1970 Doublrday and Cy 1969
Incredibile Mission - Fernande Leboucher - New York
Marie-Benoit (Pierre Péteul Padre Benedetti) LevyAvital in Encyclopedia Judaïca Jerusalem 1971 - Flight XI, collar 993
It clero romano lasting lasting the resistenza Elio Venier - Roma 1972
a Capuchin “Father of the Jews”. The Father Marie-Benoit. Memories collected by the father Tharcisius Thistle (1986)
the Father Marie-Benoit " Father of Juifs" by Mrs. De Bangy in " Missions franciscaines" June 2005

Bonds

http://www.peremariebenoit.com

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