Museum of Memory Exhibit Recalls Italian Citizens’ Work to Save Jews from the Holocaust

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Rev. Patrick J. Griffin, C.M., Executive Director, Vincentian Center for Church and Society at St. John’s University, chats with the Most Rev. Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino of the Diocese of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino.

Rev. Patrick J. Griffin, C.M., Executive Director, Vincentian Center for Church and Society at St. John’s University, chats with the Most Rev. Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino of the Diocese of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino.         

Patrons learn the story of the efforts of Assisi, Italy, citizens to protect Jews from the German occupation of Italy from 1943 to 1944.

Patrons learn the story of the efforts of Assisi, Italy, citizens to protect Jews from the German occupation of Italy from 1943 to 1944.         

Rev. Patrick J. Griffin, C.M., Executive Director, Vincentian Center for Church and Society at St. John’s University, chats with the Most Rev. Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino of the Diocese of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino.         

Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P., University President, second left, with retired Bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn, NY, the Most Rev. Nicholas A. DiMarzio, Ph.D., D.D. ’08HON  

Rabbi Manes Kogan from Hillcrest Jewish Center, left, with Gary Krupp, Founder and President of the Pave the Way Foundation

Rabbi Manes Kogan from Hillcrest Jewish Center, left, with Gary Krupp, Founder and President of the Pave the Way Foundation

The Most Rev. Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino of the Diocese of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino in Italy with the relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis

The Most Rev. Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino of the Diocese of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino in Italy with the relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis

Rev. Patrick J. Griffin, C.M., Executive Director, Vincentian Center for Church and Society at St. John’s University, chats with the Most Rev. Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino of the Diocese of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino.
Patrons learn the story of the efforts of Assisi, Italy, citizens to protect Jews from the German occupation of Italy from 1943 to 1944.
Rev. Patrick J. Griffin, C.M., Executive Director, Vincentian Center for Church and Society at St. John’s University, chats with the Most Rev. Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino of the Diocese of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino.         
Rabbi Manes Kogan from Hillcrest Jewish Center, left, with Gary Krupp, Founder and President of the Pave the Way Foundation
The Most Rev. Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino of the Diocese of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino in Italy with the relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis
April 8, 2022

The efforts of citizens of a small city in Italy to save potential victims of the Holocaust were celebrated in a unique presentation at St. John’s University on Wednesday, April 6.

Museum of Memory Assisi, 1943–44 recalls the heroism of the citizens of the Umbrian city in saving Jews from potential deportation to Nazi death camps. Convents and other religious communities offered refuge to 300 Jews, who remained hidden there until false identity documents could be manufactured, allowing them to pass amid the German occupiers.

The exhibit was presented by the Pave the Way Foundation, an interfaith nonprofit based in Wantagh, NY. Pave the Way sponsors cultural, technological, and educational exchanges between major religions, hoping to facilitate goodwill and a spirit of trust.

The exhibit came to St. John’s University at a time when the world is witnessing an exodus of refugees from Ukraine amid hostilities with Russia.

The Diocese of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino in Italy, home to St. Francis of Assisi, was represented by Most Rev. Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino, who spoke of the citizens’ “courage to do what was right, but also what was illegal.”

“This initiative recalls a great page of light that shone in a dark period of history, but also tells the world that good can—and must—triumph over evil,” Archbishop Sorrentino said.

Museum of Memory is a walk-through exhibit that features videos, images, published and unpublished documents from the Holocaust era, and more. Accompanying it to St. John’s was a relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis, who was born in London to Italian parents in 1991 and beatified in 2020 following his death from leukemia at age 15. In February of 2020, Pope Francis confirmed a miracle attributed to Mr. Acutis, who is buried in Assisi.

About St. John’s University:

St. John’s University is a private, coeducational, Roman Catholic University founded in 1870 by the Congregation of the Mission (the Vincentians), with its main campus located in Queens, NY. St. John’s University also has campuses and locations in Staten Island and Manhattan, and in Rome, Italy; in Paris, France; and in Limerick, Ireland. St. John’s University is comprised of six colleges, including the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, The Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies, St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, The Peter J. Tobin College of Business (including the Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science), The School of Education, and the School of Law.

As of Fall 2021, the University has 1,410 full-time and part-time faculty, 15,452 undergraduate students, and 4,206 graduate students who come from 48 states and 118 countries. St. John's offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate programs, including 15 doctoral programs.

For more information, contact St. John's University's Office of Media Relations at 718-990-1621; [email protected].

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