The Good Pope - The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation

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When John XXIII baptized Jews
By Sergio Rubin
May 27, 2001
A group of Jewish personalities vindicates the commitment made by monsignor
Guiseppe Roncalli, later John XXIII, during the Second World War. His stratagem
saved the lives of thousands of Hungarian-Jews.
The chubby monsignor put his chair near that of his visitor's and
in a mid tone of voice asked him: ¿Do you think that Jews would
voluntarily accept to be baptized?
It took a few seconds for the interlocutor to answer until with a
lot of common sense he said: Look, if that could save their lives, I think
they would be willing to do it". The religious person's answer was
instantaneous: I already know what I am going to do.
The dialogue belongs to whom at that moment was the Apostolic
Nuncio in Turkey, monsignor Giuseppe Roncalli, named Pope
John XXIII in 1958 and later called "the good Pope", and to the
War Refugee Board delegate in Istanbul, the American Ira
Hirschmann. It took place at the height of the Second World War,
and it gave birth to one of the greatest operations to rescue Jews from the horror of Nazism.It
was what some people call "Baptism Operation", a plan to baptize Hungarian-Jews: thanks to
these certificates that proved that they had received the sacrament, many avoided being sent to
the concentration camps.According to the testimonies given to the Nuremberg tribunals, this
allowed to save 24,000 Jews, though catholic sources state that 80,000 certificates were
granted.Nevertheless, for those who this resource reminds them of the forced conversion of
Jews, the administration of the sacrament would not be a
sine qua non
requisite to get the certificate. It would be invented if necessary. It neither forced the baptized
to profess the Catholic cult. According to the formula chosen by the Apostolic Nuncio in
Turkey and the ambassador Hirschmann, diplomats at last, it would depend on the baptized
Jews whether they decided to stay in Church or not.Monsignor Roncalli did not seem to be
improvising in front of Hirschmann, because he had been thinking of the plan for a while. In
fact, he told his visitor that he had reasons to believe that religious women of the Sisters of
Sion congregation had already granted some baptismal certificates to Hungarian-Jews. And
even that the Nazis had recognized these documents as valid for the bearers to leave