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

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

. He issued false documents to

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in order for them to escape the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

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

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

later recognized him as a

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...

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

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

who had Cardinal

Angelo Amato Angelo Amato, Salesians of Don Bosco, S.D.B. (8 June 1938 – 31 December 2024) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints between 2008 and 20 ...

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 Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

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 language, Ladin and ; ; ; ; ; ), also known in English as Trent, is a city on the Adige, Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the Trentino, autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th ...

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

Catholic Action Catholic Action is a movement of Catholic laity, lay people within the Catholic Church which advocates for increased Catholic influence on society. Catholic Action groups were especially active in the nineteenth century in historically Catholic cou ...

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

commended Focherini for his work in 1937 and awarded him the

Order of Saint Sylvester The Pontifical Equestrian Order of Saint Sylvester (, ), sometimes referred to as the Sylvestrine Order, or the Pontifical Order of Pope Saint Sylvester, is one of five Papal order of knighthood, orders of knighthood awarded directly by the Pope ...

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

and the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

first manifested when the first he saved came from Poland on a train to

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

. 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 deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

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 ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

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 ) is the capital city of South Tyrol (officially the province of Bolzano), Northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third largest in historical Tyrol. The ...

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 belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

". 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 Giorgio Napolitano (; 29 June 1925 – 22 September 2023) was an Italian politician who served as President of Italy from 2006 to 2015, the first to be re-elected to the office. In office for 8 years and 244 days, he was the longest-serving pre ...

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 (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

on 12 February 1996 after he was titled a

Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

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, passi ...

issued the official "

nihil obstat (Latin for 'nothing hinders' or 'nothing stands in the way') is a phrase traditionally used by Catholic Church authorities to formally declare that there is no objection to the publication of a book. It also has other uses. Publishing The ...

" 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 Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. The postulation drafted and then submitted the

Positio A ''positio'' (short for the Latin ''positio super virtutibus'': "position on the virtues") is a document or collection of documents used in the process by which a Catholic person is declared Venerable, the second of four steps on the path to can ...

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 BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

- 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 A postulator is the person who guides a cause for beatification or canonization through the judicial processes required by the Catholic Church. The qualifications, role and function of the postulator are spelled out in the ''Norms to be Observed i ...

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 20th-century Italian journalists Fossoli camp survivors People who died in Flossenbürg concentration camp Writers from the Province of Modena