Franciscan monks 'hid Jews in Assisi belltower'

Jews were hidden in the bell tower of the Saint Francis basilica

 ROME -- On the eve of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the community of Franciscan priests in Assisi paid homage to the aiding of persecuted Jews by priests in their order. During the Nazi persecution, over 40 Jews were hidden in the bell tower of the Saint Francis Basilica in Assisi in groups of four or six, away from the sight of the authorities.

 In the evenings one of the monks would ring the bell in order to allow the people to leave their hiding place for a moment without being discovered by the Nazis.

 On their website, sanfrancesco.org, the community has posted a video with the words of father Vladimiro, the oldest monk of the entire community.

 "It is important to conserve the memory of those brutalities," said father Enzo Fortunato, director of the Sacred Convent's press office, "in order to always remember how much suffering was caused. Like Saint Francis we must also make ourselves instruments of peace."   ft