Hello Yaacov, do you recall our conversation about the Rabbi of Rome who converted to the Catholic Faith after WWII? You disputed my assertion, but I was sketchy on details and couldn't respond adequately at the time. I found an article which gives the following details:
The Chief Rabbi of Rome, Israel Zolli, became a Catholic on February 13, 1945 and in honor of Pope Pius XII - Eugenio Pacelli - he took the name "Eugenio."
Israel Zolli, whose original name was Zoller until he Italianized it, was a Polish Jew born in Brodj, Galizia on September 17, 1881. His family had been steeped in Rabbinical tradition for four centuries and Israel continued it. In 1920, he was named Rabbi of Trieste, a northern Italian city near the Yugoslav border that was still part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time. He lived in Trieste for 20 years and was esteemed for his talents as a mediator and exegete. During that time, he also chaired the Jewish language and literature faculty at the State University of Padua.
In 1940 Israel Zolli was called to Rome as the capital's Chief Rabbi. He was, and had always been, an openly religious man who was also dedicated to scientific research.
With the danger of WWII past, Zolli felt free to make a decision which he had been meditating for some time: to embrace the Catholic Faith. Zolli had already been to see the Jesuit Paolo Dezza in August 1944, in order to prepare himself for the great step he was about to take.
His baptism was celebrated privately in a tiny chapel of the Roman church, Santa Maria degli Angeli. Zolli's wife was also baptized and his daughter would follow a year later. In gratitude for Pope Pius XII's efforts for persecuted Jews Zolli was baptized with the Pontiff's own name, Eugenio. His wife added Maria to her name.
This was taken from a one page article. I know a book was released last year. If you are interested I will try and find out the title.
Regards, Charles |
