On October 16, 1943, the Nazis conducted the largest roundup of Jews in the history of Rome. Over 1,000 men, women, and children were seized from their homes and held in temporary detention centers before being sent to Auschwitz.
Pope Pius XII, who had been silent up to that point, gave a direct order to every religious institution in Rome to open its doors to anyone seeking refuge. Twenty-three Catholic institutions in the city, including convents, monasteries, and the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, sheltered approximately 4,000 Jewish refugees.
Castel Gandolfo alone hid 3,000 people in its cellars, its gardens, and its summer apartments. The Pope ordered that the doors of every Catholic institution be opened, and he sent a message to the German commander in Rome, General Rainer Stahel, stating that any attempt to search a Catholic institution would be considered an act of war against the Holy See.
Stahel, who was a Catholic, did not send his troops. The Jewish refugees at Castel Gandolfo remained there until June 1944, when the American army liberated Rome. They were given food, clothing, and medical supplies from the Vatican stores.
The Pope role in saving the Jews of Rome is one of the most controversial subjects in the history of World War II. He was praised by many Jewish leaders after the war and condemned by others for not speaking out more forcefully. What is less well known is that the Vatican, through its institutions and clergy, saved more Jewish lives than any single nation during the Holocaust.