“Providence can have its reasons:Let her act.”

voltaic

The following article was produced during a recent meeting with Monsignor Giampaolo Crepaldi, Archbishop of Trieste. A feverish and immediate reading of the work followed, thanks to the curiosity caused by the mention at the aforementioned meeting of the figure of Bishop Antonio Santino and the providential role played by the eminent prelate during the tragic years of the Second World War. War. Of course, I knew and had already visited the Sanctuary of Monte Griza, which was completed in 1966, but the will that was the basis of this construction was not known to me. As many times in my life, I turned to the tab of the book, so naturally to the story. So, from the works of Archbishop Giampaolo Crepaldi (“La Cappella Madre Della Riconciliazione”) and Antonio Santino (“Al Tramonto: Ricordi autobiographici di un vescovo”) I learned and feel obliged to give the reader a dramatic and stormy story, or rather the crossroads of the city at the end war At the same time I again saw the funeral slab of Bishop Antonio Santino from the Cathedral of San Giusto in Trieste and reread the words engraved in a lapidary but extremely synthetic formula:Defensor Civitatis.”

Antonio Santin (1895-1981) was a man of the Church. Sacerdote in Poreč (today a town on the Dalmatian coast of Croatia), bishop of the “United Dioceses of Trieste and Kapodistria” (the latter is today the Slovenian city of Koper), speaking Slovene and Croatian, took a stand during the war years against any persecution, in particular, notes (April 15, 1943) submitted to fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. Here are the words of Antonio Santino on January 15, 1944:

“Let everyone remember that, according to Christian principles, it is unthinkable to deprive one or more of one’s neighbor of his freedom, property or life just because he belongs to another nationality, race or political beliefs… Let us respect the Man who is honored by God Himself: Let us respect the Man, and then we will respect ourselves.”

Wise words, the message of which, in my opinion, is relevant, including or especially in our time. At the same time, I cannot help but notice these words, so different, so opposite to those spoken by Benito Mussolini in the fatal speech on the racial laws (September 1938, Piazza Uniate Italia, Trieste)… Later (1963) Antonio Santin was appointed archbishop and in 1978 published the aforementioned work. (“Al Tramonto:/La Asfințit: Autobiographical memories of the village”).

Other characters of the following story are Friedrich Rainer (commander of the German army in Carinthia, the city of Trieste was occupied on September 9, 1943 and included in the so-called “Adriatic coastal operational zone”/”Operationszone Adriatisches Kustenland’), Hermann Linkenbach (German general, former Olympic athlete ), other high-ranking officers such as Rigele or Fellner, Bernard Freyberg (Lieutenant-General, commander of the 2nd New Zealand Division, the first Allied unit to enter Trieste at the end of April 1945), Villa Geiringer (site of dramatic negotiations between German commanders and Bishop Santin, stately house built in the 19th century, headquarters of the Wehrmacht between 1943-1945, later of the Allied military government, and today the historical heritage of Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region under the administration of a Benedictine monastery “San Cipriano”, the park and the building are part of the school) and, of course, the city itself, a port in the North-Eastern Adriatic, whose naval structures were almost completely mined by the German army. . The main theme of this article is the rescue of the city from the intended sabotage by the retreating combatant by detonating all explosive charges that would lead to total destruction. In these conditions, the role of Antonio Santino, “a man of long and deep inner prayer”, who during the war years constantly stood for “peace, harmony and justice”, could only be the main one in everything that the city stood for. standing on the edge of the abyss.

The chronological thread of Bishop Santin’s testimony begins with the day of April 27, 1945. The context was the strengthening of rumors that had already begun to circulate since the fall of the previous year regarding a certain project of the German command. This was to include mining the entire port, destroying the electrical, water and gas infrastructure before a possible and predictable military evacuation. As early as November 13, 1944, the bishop sent a written note to Field Marshal Kesselring (the German commander of the Italian front), but in April 1945, the threat posed by the implementation of the above-mentioned plan became tangible, if not inevitable. . The day of April 27, 1945 began on a note of hope, because even in the most tragic times there is still humanity and consciousness. Here are the words of the bishop regarding the role of a certain Fellner (Austrian officer)”catholic and against this kind of nazi style warfare…at the end of the conflict the whole harbor was mined…we both agreed that the harbor would not be blown up even if ordered to do so.” However, the situation becomes very tense, because on the same day the bishop receives a second message, much more inflexible, and the content of which, with an unfortunate embellishment, hides the reality of the destruction:

“At nine o’clock on April 27, 1945, Mr. Huber arrived from the High Commissariat, authorized by Vice Gauleiter Rogalsky, to deliver a message to me on behalf of Commandant-General Rainer. To my attempts to save the port, Rainer replied by assuring me that he had always acted in that direction, and that he had never suggested the subject to the Führer’s headquarters; that he had done all that depended on him, and that he would continue to do so. He hopes that nothing will succeed in provoking the explosions. That, if military necessity so requires, destruction will be caused with minimal effect, except for electrical installations. It was, let’s say, the official part.”

It is easy to conclude that such an inaccurate report could not have escaped the attention of Bishop Santino, since the intention to sabotage the advance of the allies, but primarily the city, was quite transparent.

The highlight was the meeting with Villa Geiringer between Bishop Santin and General Linkenbach. The discussion began with a proposal for the peaceful withdrawal of German troops from Trieste, which was initially not accepted by the latter. Here are the details of a dramatic and disturbing dialogue that oscillated between realism and inflexibility, and in which, at the end, a certain gesture gave birth to perhaps a ray of hope:

“The general, of course, spoke for himself. Voices about a truce do not inspire confidence. He ordered his troops to be sent to the hills around the city to dominate Trieste as a whole. Wait for the reinforcements that will inevitably arrive… The truce is nothing but pure propaganda. The cessation of hostilities and retreat from Trieste should not be taken into account… He had a single order and a single will: To fight; and is ready to restore order by force and at any cost. On our conduct depends the destruction of the city… I told him that Trieste was the gateway to Central Europe: why destroy it without any further purpose or benefit? This is not a German city, perhaps it is better to defend it. To destroy Trieste is nonsense, a huge and useless adventure. The Italian people will never be able to forget such a gesture… Today there is still time, tomorrow it probably won’t be.Bishop Santin concluded by remarking that “the interlocutor respectfully and kindly led me to the stairs in front of the villa: “If the time comes, then we will negotiate.”“…

The return to the city, or rather the bishop’s departure, was dramatic Villa Geiringer in his residence in the center of the city. Just as, if I may make a comparison in completely different circumstances, Minister Mihail Manoilescu wrote that after the Vienna Dictatorship on August 30, 1940, “the return to the country was heartbreaking and ominous,” so the high prelate perceived “a fearful and restless people“, extremely panicked by persistent rumors about an imminent and large-scale sabotage operation. This was the moment when Bishop Santin decided to address the citizens of Trieste on the radio:

“Calm does not mean weakness, distrust or fear. It means strength, courage and determination; allow yourself to be guided by reason and responsibility….today more than ever, a supposed discipline and control of your feelings is needed…At this moment it is better not to listen to the passions that burn our hearts, revenges or resentments that can cost lives; they are contrary to God’s laws and the principles of civilization, which constitute our pride. The sense of justice that burns in our hearts knows how difficult and calm are the roads that must be built to the end… Let us be united, calm, calm and strong, brothers and sons of this city, which we want to be great and prosperous. This is the only way we will win in times of great decisions. We do not wish harm on anyone and do not take revenge. We think only about tomorrow, the day of reconstruction.”

The day of April 30, 1945 was marked by a meeting in the episcopal residence of the village. through Kavanagh (Centre of the city of Trieste) between the emissary of the German occupation command (Officer Giessen accompanied by 4 armed soldiers) and the High Prelate of Trieste. The bishop again asked for an unlimited withdrawal of military forces from the city, but the answer was negative. Furthermore, the above-mentioned officer conveyed to the bishop that it was very important that there should be no opposition in Trieste, because “precise and detailed counter orders are in effect.” It was a moment of balance and maximum charge of one’s soul a person of the Church whose only desire was to keep the thousand-year-old city intact. After hearing the cannon volleys from Sezana and Divac (populations today in Slovenia, located very close to Trieste), which announced the approach of Tito’s troops (Yugoslav partisans, united in the 4th Army), the bishop realized that Trieste was under fire, at the intersection of the road, which could unite several combatants (the occupying Germans, the vanguard of the 4th Yugoslav Army, the Allies, the Italians from Trieste with the inevitable armed partisan actions, grouped in the “Committee of National Liberation” headed by Edoardo Marazzi), with with all the consequences of rigor. This was the moment when Bishop Antonio Santin, alone in the episcopal palace, but also alone in the face of great danger to his peers, prayed to the Blessed Virgin, begging “mercy and help to save the city.“At the same time, it was the astral moment of the covenant: “With His protection the city will be saved and then I will do my best to build a church dedicated to HIM.” Today it is the sanctuary of Monte Griza, near which there is also a statue of Monsignor Antonio Santino. Read more at Contributors.ro