Odoardo Focherini (sometimes referred to as Edward Focherini; 6 June 1907 – 27 December 1944) was an Italian

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

. He issued false documents to

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

in order for them to escape the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

regime but was arrested and sent to a concentration camp where he later died.

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

later recognized him as a

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( he, חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, ; "righteous (plural) of the world's nations") is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to sa ...

in 1969 for his efforts. Focherini's beatification was held on 15 June 2013 in Modena under

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

who had Cardinal

Angelo Amato Angelo Amato, S.D.B. (born 8 June 1938) is an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints between 2008 and 2018. He served as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of ...

preside over the celebration on his behalf.

Life

Matrimonio di Maria Marchesi e Odoardo Focherini 1930

Odoardo Focherini was born on 6 June 1907 in Modena as the third son of Tobia Focherini and Maria Bertacchini; his father married Teresa Merigi in 1909 after Focherini's mother died. He had three brothers. Focherini met Maria Marchesi (1909–1989) while he was on vacation in

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th ce ...

, and they became engaged in 1925. They married on 9 July 1930 and had seven children together between 1931 and 1943. The children in order of birth were: Olga (b. 1931), Maddalena, Attilio (d. 1946), Rodolfo, Gianna, Carla and Paola (b. July 1943). The couple were to have an eighth child (Sandro or Sandra depending on the gender) but this did not happen as Focherini was arrested. On 1 January 1934 Focherini gained work with the Società Assicurazione Cattolica di Verona, an insurance corporation, and worked as an agent for the Modena branch. In 1933 he left his line of work in order to become a journalist and he became the managing director of

L'Avvenire d'Italia ''Avvenire'' (English: "Future") is an Italian daily newspaper which is affiliated with the Catholic Church and is based in Milan. History and profile ''Avvenire'' was founded in 1968 in Milan through the merger of two Catholic newspapers: '' L ...

. A fellow friend and journalist was the Jewish-Italian Giacomo Lampronti. In 1936 he became the diocesan president of

Catholic Action Catholic Action is the name of groups of lay Catholics who advocate for increased Catholic influence on society. They were especially active in the nineteenth century in historically Catholic countries under anti-clerical regimes such as Spain, I ...

. Pope Pius XI commended Focherini for his work in 1937 and awarded him the

Order of Saint Sylvester Pontifical Equestrian Order of Saint Sylvester Pope and Martyr ( la, Ordo Sancti Silvestri Papae, it, Ordine di San Silvestro Papa), sometimes referred to as the Sylvestrine Order, or the Pontifical Order of Pope Saint Sylvester, is one of five o ...

. In 1942 his activism in saving the lives of Jews during

and the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

first manifested when the first he saved came from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

on a train to

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

. On 8 September 1943 he got in touch with people who provided him with blank identification cards with false data and took a group of Jews to the border. He issued this fake documentation to them in order for them to escape

persecution to neutral Switzerland and with his

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

friend Dante Sala provided documents on one occasion for his friend Lampronti and his relations. He was also a friend of

Teresio Olivelli Teresio Olivelli (7 January 1916 – 12 January 1945) was an Italian Roman Catholic soldier during World War II and part of the Italian Resistance movement to Fascism and the Nazi regime. Olivelli graduated in law in Pavia in 1938 and went on to ...

. The Nazis discovered this covert operation and arrested him at the Carpi Hospital on 11 March 1944 while he organized the escape of Enrico Donati. On 13 March 1944 he was taken to San Giovanni in Monte prison in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

and remained there until 5 July when he was moved to Fossoli. From there Focherini was sent to a labour camp in

Bolzano Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third la ...

and remained there until 4 August when he was deported to the German state; he was sent to Flossenbürg on 7 September. Focherini sent a total of 166 letters to his wife while in imprisonment. The Nazis then sent him to a concentration camp in

Hersbruck Hersbruck () is a small town in Middle Franconia, Bavaria, Germany, belonging to the district Nürnberger Land. It is best known for the late-gothic artwork of the Hersbruck altar, the "Hirtenmuseum" and the landscape of Hersbruck Switzerland. ...

where he later died on 27 December 1944 due to an untreated leg infection while confirmation of his death came later on 4 June 1945. His final words were reported as: "I declare that I die in the purest Roman Catholic faith and in full submission to the will of

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

". He had saved a total of 105 Jewish lives.

Posthumous recognition

In 1969 he received posthumous recognition from

for his heroic efforts during the war in saving the lives of countless Jews and awarded him the title of

.Odoardo Focherini
at

website In 2007 the then-President of the Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano awarded him the Gold Medal for Civil Merit for his heroic actions during World War II.

Beatification

The beatification cause commenced under

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

on 12 February 1996 after he was titled a Servant of God after the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pass ...

issued the official "

nihil obstat ''Nihil obstat'' (Latin for "nothing hinders" or "nothing stands in the way") is a declaration of no objection that warrants censoring of a book, e.g., Catholic published books, to an initiative, or an appointment. Publishing The phrase ''ni ...

" to the cause and allowed for it to commence on a diocesan level; Bishop Bassano Staffieri oversaw its opening on 30 March 1996 and its conclusion on 26 May 1998. The C.C.S. validated this process on 28 May 1999 in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. The postulation drafted and then submitted the

Positio In the Catholic Church, a ''positio'' (''Positio super Virtutibus'') is a document or collection of documents used in the process by which a person is declared Venerable, the second of the four steps on the path to canonization as a saint. Des ...

to the C.C.S. in 2003 and it allowed for a board of theologians to approve the cause on 16 October 2007 and for the C.C.S. to do so as well on 3 April 2012.

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

- on 10 May 2012 - confirmed that Focherini had died "in odium fidei" (in hatred of the faith) and thus approved his beatification. Cardinal

presided over the beatification in Modena on 15 June 2013 on the behalf of

. Focherini's friend Lampronti attended the beatification. The current postulator for this cause is the Franciscan priest Giovangiuseppe Califano.

References

External links

Hagiography CircleSaints SQPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Focherini, Odoardo 1907 births 1944 deaths 20th-century venerated Christians Beatifications by Pope Francis Catholic resistance to Nazi Germany Catholic saints and blesseds of the Nazi era Catholic Righteous Among the Nations Italian Righteous Among the Nations Italian beatified people Italian civilians killed in World War II Italian male journalists Knights of the Order of St. Sylvester People from Carpi, Emilia-Romagna Roman Catholic activists Venerated Catholics 20th-century Italian journalists Fossoli camp survivors People who died in Flossenbürg concentration camp Writers from the Province of Modena