Capuchins in Angers, Paris, New York, and numerous sites in Portugal and East Timor are preparing to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the recognition by Jerusalem's Yad Vashem of the outstanding role which Capuchin Father Marie Benoit Peteul (1895-1990) played in saving the lives of thousands of Jewish people threatened by the Nazi Shoah in World War II.

Marie Benoit carried on this dangerous ministry both in his native France and later at the Capuchin international college in Rome. Yad Vashem recognized him as "Righteous Among the Nations" on Dec. 1, 1966.

The Angelo Roncalli International Committee and the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation are sponsoring an anniversary Mass Dec. 1 at St. John the Baptist Church, center of Capuchin activity in midtown Manhattan. Among those attentding will be the New York Consul General of France. Afterwards members of the IRWF will gather in the Church's Hall to greet guests and provide further information on Holocaust saviors.

Marie Benoit's story was told by Fernande Leboucher in "Incredible Mission: the Amazing Story of Pere Benoit, Rescuer of the Jews from the Nazis," a 165-page book published by Doubleday in 1969.

For more about Marie Benoit, see this link.