Pope recalls Portuguese diplomat who rescued thousands during WWII

Aristides de Sousa Mendes

Source: ASM Foundation/Vatican News

During his General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis noted that June 17 marks the 'Day of Conscience', inspired by the witness of a Portuguese diplomat who saved the lives of thousands of Jews and others during World War Two.

In 1940, Aristides de Sousa Mendes, was the Portuguese consul in the French city of Bordeaux. He defied the orders of the Salazar regime and issued visas and passports to thousands of Jews and many others fleeing Hitler. According to historian Yehuda Bauer, this was "perhaps the largest rescue action by a single individual during the Holocaust."

After this courageous act, he was ostracized from the world in which he had lived. He was unable to continue his job as a diplomat and forbidden from earning a living in order to support his family. His children, too, were prevented from finding gainful employment.

He spent the rest of his life trying to clear his name but was ignored by the Portuguese political regime at the time.

Aristides de Sousa Mendes died in poverty on April 3rd, 1954 at the Franciscan Hospital in Lisbon. But even at the end of his life he knew his actions had been justified in saving thousands of innocent lives. As he put it himself: "I could not have acted otherwise, and I, therefore, accept all that has befallen me with love."

Aristides de Sousa Mendes's act of conscience was deeply embedded in his Catholic faith. It led him to disregard the direct orders of his government to help those in need. Pope Francis said: "freedom of conscience always and everywhere be respected... May every Christian give an example of the consistency of an upright conscience enlightened by the Word of God."

Read more about Aristides de Sousa Mendes: http://sousamendesfoundation.org/aristides-de-sousa-mendes-his-life-and-legacy/