Giuseppe Girotti

After his ordination, Father Girotti specialized in the study of the Holy Scriptures. Sent to the École Biblique in Jerusalem from 1932 to 1934, he studied there under the direction of the famous Father Marie-Joseph Lagrange. In 1934, he obtained the academic title of licentiate (prolita) in Sacred Scripture before the Pontifical Biblical Commission in Rome. Upon his return to Italy, he taught Sacred Scripture at the Dominican theological seminary of Santa Maria delle Rose in Turin, as well as at the Consolata Missionaries college. Alongside his teaching duties, he devoted himself with immense zeal to the most destitute, exercising his priestly ministry among the elderly and the poor at the 'Poveri Vecchi' hospice in Turin. In 1937, upon the death of his confrere Father Marco Sales, he was tasked with continuing the writing of the great commentary on the Holy Bible. He thus published a highly regarded commentary on the Wisdom Books in 1938, followed by one on the prophet Isaiah in 1942. However, his positions hostile to Mussolini's Fascist regime led to his suspension from teaching in 1939 and his being placed under surveillance. He was then transferred to the historic convent of San Domenico in Turin, where he continued his biblical research while intensifying his charitable activities.

After the armistice of September 8, 1943, and the German occupation of Northern Italy, the persecution of Jews intensified dramatically. Faithful to the directives of Christian charity, Father Girotti became one of the main organizers of a clandestine network to aid the persecuted in Turin. He organized safe houses, provided false identity papers, and facilitated escape routes to Switzerland. He described Jews as "bearers of the Word of God" and "elder brothers." On August 29, 1944, the victim of a denunciation, he fell into a trap set by the Nazi-Fascist police under the pretext of helping a wounded Jewish partisan. Arrested on the spot, he began a painful Way of the Cross through several prisons: first the Nuove prison in Turin, then San Vittore in Milan, before being transferred to the Bolzano transit camp. On October 9, 1944, he was deported to the Dachau concentration camp in Bavaria (Germany).

At the Dachau camp, registered under the grounds of having "helped the Jews," Father Girotti was interned in the priests' block. Despite extreme deprivation, forced labor, and mistreatment that severely impaired his health, he remained a model of faith, gentleness, and charity, sharing his food, hearing confessions, and comforting his fellow captives. He died on April 1, 1945, Easter Sunday, at the age of 39, likely as a result of a lethal injection administered in the camp infirmary. Shortly after his death, a fellow prisoner wrote on his wooden bunk: "Here slept the saint Giuseppe Girotti." In recognition of his heroic action, the Yad Vashem Institute in Jerusalem awarded him the title of "Righteous Among the Nations" posthumously on February 14, 1995. The cause for beatification was opened in the Diocese of Turin on March 20, 1988. On March 27, 2013, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing his martyrdom in odium fidei (in hatred of the faith). The solemn beatification ceremony was celebrated on April 26, 2014, in the Cathedral of San Lorenzo in Alba. It was presided over, in the name of Pope Francis, by Cardinal Severino Poletto, Archbishop Emeritus of Turin.

The spirituality of Blessed Giuseppe Girotti rests on an intimate union between sacred science and lived charity. For him, the in-depth study of the Word of God was not a simple intellectual discipline, but a living source of love that had to be translated into concrete service to the poorest and the persecuted. His famous saying: "Everything I do, I do solely out of charity" summarizes the impetus of his entire life. His legacy remains alive, particularly in Alba and Turin, where parks, associations, and memorial spaces recall his heroic sacrifice. He is venerated as a martyr of faith and charity, a bridge between Christians and Jews, and a model of obedience to the law of God in the face of totalitarian barbarism.