Tribute to Brother Alessandro Di Pietro at San Leone Magno College
On the occasion of the European Day of the Righteous 2025, celebrated on March 6, the Marist school in Rome, the Institute of San Leone Magno, of the Mediterranean Province, received the “Civico Giusto” award, a plaque dedicated to Br. Alessandro Di Pietro and the Marist community “San Leone Magno” of the 1943-1944 scholastic year, for hiding and protecting 24 Jewish children and 12 adults during World War II.
The “Civico Giusto” (Righteous Civic Number) is a project of “Roma Bpa”, with the support of the German Embassy in Italy, the patronage of the Jewish Community of Rome, the Representation of the European Commission in Italy, and the Municipality of Rome.
As part of the event, held on March 7, the mini-documentary “Il Civico Giusto – Istituto San Leone Magno” was also presented, which reveals the story of some Jewish children who were secret guests of Brother Alessandro and the Marist community at the “San Leone Magno”, located at that time at 124 Via Montebello. The “Civico Giusto” is an artistic mosaic plaque placed on the external wall of the Marist school, in Piazza Santa Costanza n 1
Among the guests was Brother Massimo Radicetti, who personally knew Brother Alessandro di Pietro. Testifying about Brother Alesandro and his decision to hide the Jews, Brother Massimo stated – in the mini-documentary published by Roma Bpa – that in case they were discovered, Br. Alessandro was ready to declare himself as the only guilty party. “He took a risk, in agreement with the community. And if they had been discovered, he would have defended them, saying: it’s my responsibility, not that of the other brothers. Trying to save them.” “Brother Alessandro was a simple and gentlemanly figure, endowed with excellent diplomatic skills: he was capable of listening, dialoguing, and mediating; smiling, serene, welcoming, always ready to understand the student, the teacher, or the confrere who might have made a mistake. His kindness, at the right moment, knew how to disguise obvious errors with a light sense of humor, without ever falling into irony”, added Br. Massimo (Read the article by Brother Massimo about Brother Alessandro, from 2017).
Brother Alessandro “never boasted about what he did.” He didn’t talk about it; “for him, it was normal,” said Fabrizio Guerra, a former student of the San Leone Magno Institute, who knew Brother Alessandro.
“Even today, much more than when he was alive, the delicate aroma of his presence and personality continues to make our present existence pleasant and meaningful, and at the same time helps us to question and consciously guide the daily choices we are called to make,” emphasized Brother Claudio Begni of the Marist community of San Leone Magno.
Referring to “San Leone Magno” as a place of safeguarding, the school principal, Matteo Mennini, mentioned that “this is a beautiful story that belongs to us. Today we want, through the placement of the plaque, to share it with the neighborhood and the whole city.”
For his part, the representative of the German Embassy in Italy, Andreas Krüger, said: “I hope that the stories of the righteous, like that of Brother Alessandro, can serve as inspiration.”
Speaking about the “Righteous Civic Number” (Civico Giusto) and the QR code of the video recorded on it, the Roma Bpa Association highlighted that “this is a project that tells a story”. “It was known that some young men had been hidden there; we managed to find their names and their subsequent fates after the liberation,” declared Maria Grazia Lancellotti and Paolo Masini, researcher and coordinator of the ‘Civico Giusto’ project.
In 2019, the Institute of San Leone Magno was named “House of Life” by the International Foundation of Raoul Wallenberg. On that occasion Brother Ernesto Sanchez, Superior General, said: “Brother Alessandro and his brothers were a “beacon of hope” in that complex and dramatic situation. They performed a gesture of humanity in the midst of war and persecution, even risking their own lives. We should expect these gestures of humanity from every human being, and especially from those who, like us, believe in the God of Abraham.”
In 2001, Brother Alessandro Di Pietro received the title and medal “Righteous Among the Nations,” awarded by Yad Vashem on behalf of the State of Israel and the Jewish people for having risked his life to save Jews during the Holocaust.
Alessandro Di Pietro
Between 1943 and 1944, Brother Alessandro, risking his own life and that of the Brothers in his community, took the responsibility of accommodating and hiding a number of Jewish teenagers and adults in the premises of San Leone Magno Institute, which was then located in Via Montebello, near Termini Central Station.
This is how he told the story himself in an Italian Marist magazine:
“The anti-Jewish laws brought some Jewish boys to our school; we received around twenty, Italians and foreigners, with fake identity cards issued in complicity with some officials in the registry office of Rome. The only condition to receive them was that, for obvious safety reasons, Jews would behave as Catholics, a rule which their parents thought was reasonable and willingly accepted: so prayer, Rosary, Holy Mass, like everyone else. One of the families later converted to Christianity. Perhaps this was the reason why, when the war was over, the Director was accused before Monsignor Traglia of having forced Jewish boys to convert to Christianity. It all ended with a compassionate smile. We also received eight to ten adults: a Rabbi from Poland, two German professionals, an Italian General and others, which were a cause of concern for us, much more than the boys.
On one occasion, we were secretly warned that there would be an SS inspection. We made arrangements and took precautions with the adults, but thank God, the inspection never took place. However, it happened instead that one of the refugees was stopped by the Italian police when he was taking a short walk, for he did not want to be always locked up in the house. He was a German professor, and told the police where he had taken refuge. Luckily enough, the police officer in charge was our friend and brought the person back to our house, warning the Director that it should not happen again.
Getting food was our main problem: the ration cards assigned too little and poor quality foodstuff, so we had to resort to subterfuge. We used the vouchers for tobacco: we found the way to exchange them for pasta, sugar, oil, butter, salt, etc. We took action in a thousand ways to find potatoes, flour and beans. Brothers Angelo Oreggia and Graziano were the best in this regard, and also in buying gas and coal in the black market for a not-too-high price and bringing it home by truck”.