Giuseppe Girotti
This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2018) |
Dachau Concentration Camp, Nazi Germany | |
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Venerated in | Catholic Church |
Beatified | 26 April 2014, Alba Cathedral, Cuneo, Italy by Cardinal Severino Poletto (on behalf of Pope Francis) |
Feast | 1 April |
Righteous Among the Nations |
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By country |
Giuseppe Girotti (19 July 1905 – 1 April 1945) was an Italian
The beatification for the late priest was celebrated on 26 April 2014 in Alba Cathedral after Pope Francis confirmed the Dominican had died "in odium fidei" ("in hatred of the faith"); Cardinal Severino Poletto celebrated the solemn Mass on the pope's behalf.
Life
Giuseppe Girotti was born on 19 July 1905 in
In the summer of 1918 he witnessed a priest of the
On 15 October 1923, he made his profession into his order at Viterbo. Girotti received his
He worked as a professor at theological studies at the Saint Maria delle Rose
Having been caught in the act of helping a wounded Jewish partisan to the home of Professor Joseph Diena, Girotti was arrested on 29 August 1944. It emerged that a spy, disguised as a person needing his help, was taken to Villa Cavorette where the priest had hidden Diena. This individual reported Girotti then to the authorities and he was arrested and taken first to the Le Nuove prison in Turin where at attempt by his Dominican superior to secure his release did not succeed. Girotti was moved to the San Vittore prison in Milan before being moved to the camp at Gries in Bolzano on 21 September 1944, where he met the priest Angelo Dalmasso.[1][2][3] Girotti was then sent to the Dachau concentration camp on the night of 9 October 1944 and branded with the inmate number 113355. He was imprisoned with a thousand other priests in Cabin 26, a space designed for 180 inmates. It was there that he became close friends with Josef Beran and Carlo Manziana, who were later both to become bishops.[4]
On 1 March 1945, Girotti started to suffer from rheumatic pain and swelling in his legs, and this worsened two weeks later when the swelling spread to his entire right side. He was taken to a medical center within the prison and was diagnosed with probable carcinoma. From 23 March to 1 April he remained in the medical center and on Easter – 1 April – he was "probably" killed with a lethal injection of gasoline.[1][2] His remains were buried in a mass grave three kilometers from the camp. An fellow inmate wrote on the bunk that Girotti had occupied, saying: "Here slept Saint Giuseppe Girotti".[5]
Yad Vashem recognition
On 14 February 1995, the
Beatification
The route to beatification process began as usual with the diocesan process opened by Cardinal
A panel of theologians asserted on 20 January 2012 their belief that Girotti was killed for his faith, while the Congregation came to the same conclusion on 5 February 2013; Pope Francis confirmed on 27 March 2013 that Girotti was killed "in odium fidei" ("in hatred of the faith") and thus opened the way to his beatification. On the pope's behalf Cardinal Severino Poletto, Archbishop of Turin, presided over the beatification at a solemn Mass in Alba Cathedral on 26 April 2014.[1]
The current postulator for this cause is the Dominican priest Vito Tomás Gómez García.[citation needed]
See also
- Priest Barracks of Dachau Concentration Camp
- Catholic resistance to Nazi Germany
- Rescue of Jews by Catholics during the Holocaust
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Blessed Giuseppe Girotti". Saints SQPN. 1 April 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f "Blessed Giuseppe Girotti: Another Dominican Saint in the Making". Order of Preachers. Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ a b c d e "Girotti, Father Giuseppe". Yad Vashem. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ a b c d e "Blessed Giuseppe Girotti". Santi e Beati. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ "Italian priest who saved Jews in WWII beatified". The Times of Israel. 8 May 2014.