"Volumes could be written on the multiform works of succor of Pius XII" ~ The testimony of Eugenio Zolli, chief rabbi of Rome during World War II

“No hero in history has commanded such an army; none is more militant, more fought against, none more heroic than that conducted by Pius XII in the name of Christian charity.” 

These are the words of an elderly Italian Catholic known as Professor Eugenio Maria Zolli. He was not always known by this name, however. Prior to 1945, he was known as Rabbi Israel Zolli, and before that, as Israel Anton Zoller. He was born in 1881 in what was then a Polish region of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His mother was a German Jew and on her side of the family, a rabbinic tradition stretched back at least a century.

Zolli as a younger man. See additional
photos here.

Israel Zoller’s life would be shaped during the tumultuous years of the Great War. Spending most of his life in Italy, he would change his name to the more Italian-sounding Zolli and go on to become the chief rabbi of Trieste when that city was annexed by Italy following the defeat and dissolution of Austria-Hungary in 1918.

In 1939, Zolli was named chief Rabbi of the city of Rome and would serve until 1944. As such, he would preside over the darkest days for the Jewish community in Rome. He would also witness first-hand the efforts of the Catholic Church in general and of Pius XII in particular, to protect and succor the Jewish people, particularly during the period of Nazi occupation from October 1943 through June of 1944. 

At the same time, all three of Zolli’s brothers would be killed in the Holocaust. 

The quote in the image above may be found in Zolli’s autobiography entitled, Before the Dawn, originally published in 1954. In this work, Zolli provides a robust defense of Venerable Pope Pius XII from which the above quote is drawn. Here is the quote in more context:

“There is no place of sorrow where the spirit of love of Pius XII has not reached. Volumes could be written on the multiform works of succor of Pius XII. The Catholic priesthood throughout the world, religious men and women and the Catholic laity, stand behind the great Pontiff. Who could ever tell what has been done? The rule of severe enclosure falls, everything and all things are at the service of charity. As the sufferings grow, so grows the light from the heart of Christ, and from His Vicar; more vigilant and ready for sacrifice and martyrdom are his sons and daughters in Christ. Young Levites and white-haired priests, religious of all orders, in all lands, dedicated Sisters, all in quest of good works and ready for sacrifice. There are no barriers, no distinctions. All sufferers are children of God in the eyes of the Church, children in Christ, for them and with them all suffer and die. No hero in history has commanded such an army; none is more militant, more fought against, none more heroic than that conducted by Pius XII in the name of Christian charity….

...Like a watchful sentinel before the sacred inheritance of human pain stands the angelic Pastor, Pius XII. He has seen the abyss of misfortune toward which mankind is advancing. He has measured and foretold the greatness of the tragedy. He has made himself the herald of the serene voice of justice and the defender of true peace. He took into his heart all the pain of all the sufferers. He bent over the world saying, “The way you chose was not the just way. The true way is that which leads from the Gospel to Jesus. The good way is marked by a simple and clear word: from the Gospel, with Christ, toward the Kingdom of God.” [Before the Dawn, pages 194–196]

Eugenio Zolli in Rome accompanied by his
godfather, Fr. Gosselino Birola. ca. 1945.

Zolli would formally convert to Catholicism, along with his wife and daughter, as the war was winding down in Europe in February of 1945. As a tribute to his confessor Pius XII (whose name at birth was Eugenio Pacelli), Zolli would take the Christian name Eugenio. 

Unsurprisingly, the reaction of Rome’s Jewish community to Zolli’s action was harsh. Zolli was considered an apostate and shunned by former friends. Worse, slanders began to emerge regarding his reasons for converting. When it was suggested that he had become Catholic for very worldly reasons, Zolli replied: “No selfish motive led me to do this. When my wife and I embraced the Church, we lost everything we had in the world. We shall now have to look for work; and God will help us to find some.” [Before the Dawn, page 16]

It was also theorized that he had converted out of gratitude to Pius XII for saving him during the Nazi occupation. In response to this, Zolli wrote: 

“I did not hesitate to give a negative answer to the question whether I was converted in gratitude to Pius XII for his numberless acts of charity. Nevertheless, I do feel the duty of rendering homage and of affirming that the charity of the Gospel was the light that showed the way to my old and weary heart. It is the charity that so often shines in the history of the Church and that radiated fully in the actions of the reigning Pontiff.” [Before the Dawn, page 196]

Given these statements, it becomes difficult to give any credence to the continuing calumnies heaped upon Venerable Pope Pius XII as a do-nothing during World War II in the face of Nazi atrocities.

Interestingly, though he had studied New Testament theology for many years, it seems that the culminating impetus behind Rabbi Zolli’s conversion to Catholicism was a mystical experience. In a later biography by Judith Cabaud, we read Zolli's account:

“During the feast of Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) in October 1944, he presided over the prayers of Great Pardon in the synagogue in Rome. 'Suddenly,' he wrote, 'I saw, with the eyes of the mind, a large prairie, and standing in the middle of the green grass was Jesus, dressed in a white robe... At the sight of this, I felt a great interior peace, and, from the depths of my heart, I heard these words: 'You are here for the last time. From now on, you will follow Me.' I received them in the greatest serenity, and my heart immediately responded, 'As it shall be, so it must be.'... An hour later, after supper, in my room, my wife declared to me, 'Today, while you were standing before the Ark of the Torah, it seemed to me that the white figure of Jesus was laying His hands on you, as if He were blessing you.' I was stupefied.” [Taken from Cabaud: Eugenio Zolli, Prophet of a New World] 

Eugenio Zolli was an amazing man whose extraordinary life and thoughtful works deserve greater attention. Maybe start by reading his autobiography, Before the Dawn. Now that I have sampled it, I intend to read it in full.