Champion cyclist, devout Catholic, who saved the lives of more than eight hundred Jews during World War II. during world war. Gino Bartali was commemorated on May 5 in Assisi.
Domenico Sorrentino Marian antiphon beginning with Regina Coeli at 12 noon on May 5
"Bartali was a great witness, whose example helps us to be even more Christian, even more human," Catholic News Agency .
Bartali II. During World War II, he used his fame as a champion cyclist to support the Italian Resistance and save the lives of more than 800 Italians of Jewish descent.
Using bicycle training as a cover, Bartali transported fake documents, photographs, messages and documents between Florence and the surrounding Franciscan monasteries for the Jews hiding with the monks and for the Italian Resistance. He hid the documents in his bicycle, they could only be accessed if the seat was removed from the frame. He once hid a Jewish family in the basement of his house, but he also went out to the station where Jews arrived. As soon as he appeared, the champion's fans immediately rushed him, creating such confusion that the fugitives were able to get through the check.
Bartali also supported the Assisi Network. The clandestine network was maintained by the Catholic clergy, who escaped Jews from their convents across the Swiss Alps. Bartali, a two-time Tour de France and three-time Giro d'Italia winner, attached a trailer with a secret compartment to his bicycle, in which he once transported a Jewish family to Switzerland.
Although the fascist police and the German military did not dare to arrest Bartali, who enjoyed great popularity among the people, for fear of causing too much of a reaction, the Nazis took him in for questioning, where, despite death threats, he did not speak about the secret networks operated by Catholics. What's more, even after the war ended, he didn't talk much about his merits. His biggest fan is the head of the church XII. Pius .
He often said: "Good deeds must be done, not spoken. And certain awards are pinned on the soul, not on the coat.”
"Il Pio", i.e. the Pious, died in 2000 at the age of 85. Guardian journalist Tom Hilton once wrote about him: "He is the Vatican's favorite athlete - he has received personal blessings from three popes."
Source: vasarnap.hu
Images: malpensa24.it
