Slovenian church in New York hosts International Day of Conscience event
New York, 8 April - The Slovenian Church of St. Cyril in New York hosted on Sunday the Portuguese and Brazilian communities for a ceremony honouring the memory of two diplomats from the two countries who helped thousands, mostly Jews, escape Nazism during the Second World War.
New York, US
The Slovenian Church of St. Cyril in New York hosts an event honouring the memory of Portuguese and Brazilian diplomats who helped save several thousand refugees, mostly Jews, from Nazism in France during WWII.
Photo: Robi Poredoš/STA
New York, US
The Slovenian Church of St. Cyril in New York hosts an event honouring the memory of Portuguese and Brazilian diplomats who helped save several thousand refugees, mostly Jews, from Nazism in France during WWII.
Photo: Robi Poredoš/STA
New York, US
The Slovenian Church of St. Cyril in New York hosts an event honouring the memory of Portuguese and Brazilian diplomats who helped save several thousand refugees, mostly Jews, from Nazism in France during WWII.
Photo: Robi Poredoš/STA
New York, US
The Slovenian Church of St. Cyril in New York hosts an event honouring the memory of Portuguese and Brazilian diplomats who helped save several thousand refugees, mostly Jews, from Nazism in France during WWII.
Photo: Robi Poredoš/STA
New York, US
The Slovenian Church of St. Cyril in New York hosts an event honouring the memory of Portuguese and Brazilian diplomats who helped save several thousand refugees, mostly Jews, from Nazism in France during WWII.
Photo: Robi Poredoš/STA
New York, US
The Slovenian Church of St. Cyril in New York hosts an event honouring the memory of Portuguese and Brazilian diplomats who helped save several thousand refugees, mostly Jews, from Nazism in France during WWII.
Photo: Robi Poredoš/STA
New York, US
The Slovenian Church of St. Cyril in New York hosts an event honouring the memory of Portuguese and Brazilian diplomats who helped save several thousand refugees, mostly Jews, from Nazism in France during WWII.
Photo: Robi Poredoš/STA
New York, US
The Slovenian Church of St. Cyril in New York hosts an event honouring the memory of Portuguese and Brazilian diplomats who helped save several thousand refugees, mostly Jews, from Nazism in France during WWII.
Photo: Robi Poredoš/STA
New York, US
The Slovenian Church of St. Cyril in New York hosts an event honouring the memory of Portuguese and Brazilian diplomats who helped save several thousand refugees, mostly Jews, from Nazism in France during WWII.
Photo: Robi Poredoš/STA
New York, US
The Slovenian Catholic Church of St Cyril in New York.
Photo: Robi Poredoš/STA
File photo
The holy mass and the event, held to mark International Day of Conscience event, which the UN declared in 2019, commemorated former Portuguese consul in the French city of Bordeaux, Aristides de Sousa Mendes, who defied orders and signed visas to more than 30,000 refugees fleeing Nazi Germany, including Jews, and former Brazilian Ambassador to France Luiz Martins de Souza Dantas, who thus saved some 800 people.
The ceremonies also honoured the memory of Pope John XXIII, who as Apostolic Nuncio Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli also helped save people, especially Jews, from Nazism during WWII.
The mass was delivered by Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN Don Gabriele Giordano Caccia, and the reception that followed was attended by diplomatic representatives of many countries and representatives of 23 organisations such as foundations, clubs, and schools.
The events were hosted by the Raul Wallenber and De Sousa Mendes foundations and the Permanent Mission of Portugal to the UN in cooperation with the Church of St. Cyril.
They were made possible by the church's parishioner - Joao Crisostomo, a cultural heritage activist and campaigner for the rights of the people of East Timor, who is also known for being a butler to former US First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis.