OUR WAY OF THE CROSS
“ If God exists, then He is Jesus “
A.Moravia (1)
I saw three times Jerusalem. Once
when I came from Egypt through the Sinai desert, Gaza Strip, Bethlehem, to the
Dome Rock. The second time from Mount Nebo in Jordan. The third time I entered Jaffa Gate with Sister
Margherita Marchione.
JERUSALEM - Sister Margherita at Yad Vashem
Sister Margaret at the age
of 92 years had come to Rome from the United States for a conference we had
organized at the Capitol, from this Hill - with her Letter to the Romans – she appealed
to the Pope and the City of Rome for the cause of beatification of Pope Pius
XII with the intention to go to Jerusalem to ask the Director of the Yad Vashem
Museum to correct the inscription below the image of the Roman Pontiff at the Holocaust museum .
To everything
there is a remedy: when I asked the reception to repair the wheelchair, the
lady replied they were not able to do so but the hotel possessed one, which we
could use after depositing bail. The restaurant was closed , so I went out to
buy something to eat for Sister Margherita. I took a long walk before I could
find the stores near a bus terminal, where there was a pizzeria.
JERUSALEM - Yad Vashem
I returned to the hotel I called my brother in Italy and then to the Patriarchate. Meanwhile, from Yad Vashem I received an email, they knew that we would go there. After dinner, I tried to make other phone calls but my cell phone was blocked and remained so until the return to Rome . I was very tired . Such was the speed in starting that even I was not able to buy a map and a guide of Jerusalem the next day and
did not know which path we should have done . We woke up with bright sunshine, I handled
with a taxi driver the price of 40 Shekel to drive us to the Latin Patriarchate.
After a long drive in the middle of a traffic jam the car began to rise slowly
to the Old City, when the driver arrived at the Jaffa Gate he stopped, there
was construction going on and he could not go further, the cars behind sounded,
we went out in a hurry and the taxi was gone in a flash so under the door of
Jaffa began for me the worst nightmare that could happen to me, we were sealed
in the middle of road construction going on from all sides, dust everywhere and
a chaotic crowd, the noise was so loud that I could not even ask questions to the
pedestrians. I walked through the door of Jaffa dodging a bulldozer and found
myself in a square full of holes, down to a lane that does not lead anywhere,
the wheelchair wobbled a few times with the risk to flip over with Sister Margherita
who was sitting on it. I asked for the way to the Patriarchate, but they nobody
understood, then a woman read my note and told me to go back, so got back to the
Jaffa door and wide making could hardly take the path to the Patriarchate, that
looked close but you never came, hardly pushed the wheelchair with Sister Margherita.
In the time we were almost there we saw several cars go out, and when he
finally knocked, a nun told us that the Patriarch had waited for us, but we
were arriving late and he and the others had left to go to a ceremony in
Hebron.
Then we went back to the Jaffa gate and there after having negotiated a
price with several taxi drivers one of them agreed to take us to Yad Vashem,
leaving us at the monumental entrance, from where a long path, pushing the
wheelchair of Sister Margherita, came to the pavilion with the 'image of Pope
Pius XII. At that moment there was no one but, as we were finishing up a
prayer, came a large group of visitors, were Italians, and the guide of the
museum began to list the "allegations" to the Pope, written under his
picture. Sister Margherita for a while 'was silent to listen, then with the
Franciscan serenity intervened and began an extraordinary debate between you,
the Jewish leadership and visitors who thronged around, while I was filming
everything with my camera. The guide said that Pius XII had remained silent and
had not defended the Jews and Sister Margaret, showing him the last book we
wrote together with Senator Andreotti, with the names and addresses of hundreds
of Jews who were hidden in convents in Rome and even in the Vatican. There was
a long discussion but at the end as you can see in my filmed those present went
away saying, "Then why did the Sister!" At the time that we were
going out came another group of visitors, this time American, and guidance that
He followed them, like the previous one, also repeated the "accusations"
against Pius XII, and Sister Margherita again - this time in English - refuted
everything with great serenity. The hours passed we had seen other pavilions
and crossed the garden of the righteous among the nations - not long before
with Sister Margherita and the Cardinal Sodano, we inaugurated the Sanctuary of
the Visitation of Santa Marinella "The Pope Pius XII garden and the
righteous of the world . " I was asking the way to the Latin Patriarchate, but nobody understood me, then a woman looked at my note
and told us to go back as far as the
Jaffa Gate, there I made my way through the crows to take take the way to the
Patriarchate, that looked near but you never came to, while I hardly pushed the
wheelchair with Sister Margherita. When we were nearly there we saw several
cars go out, finally I knocked the door and a nun told us that His Beatitude had waited for us, but we were late so he
and the others had left to go to a ceremony in Hebron. So we went back to the
Jaffa gate and there after having negotiated a price with several taxi drivers
one of them agreed to drive us to Yad Vashem, till the monumental entrance. I
walked on a long path, pushing the wheelchair of Sister Margherita into the
pavilion with the 'image of Pope Pius XII. At that moment there was no one but,
as we were finishing our prayer, a large group of visitors entered, they were
Italians, and the guide of the museum began to list the "allegations"
to the Pope, written under his picture. Sister Margherita for a while 'was
silent, then with her Franciscan serenity intervened and an extraordinary
debate began among Heer, the Jewish guide and the visitors who gathered around, while I
was filming everything with my camera. The guide said that Pius XII had
remained silent and had not defended the Jews. Sister Margherita replied and
showed him the last book we wrote together with Senator Andreotti, with the
names and addresses of hundreds of Jews who were hidden in convents in Rome and
even in the Vatican City. There was a long discussion but at the end as one can
see in my video the people went away saying: "well, the Sister is right!" As soon as we were leaving,
another group of visitors entered, and they were Americans. Their guide like
the previous one, repeated the "allegations" against Pius XII. Again
Sister Margherita - this time in English - rebutted everything with great
serenity. The hours passed we visited other pavilions and crossed the Garden of the righteous among the nations.
Not long before with Sister Margaret and the Cardinal Sodano, we inaugurated at
the Sanctuary of the Visitation of Santa Marinella "The garden of Pope Pius XII and the righteous of the world”. Finally
we reached the entrance of the Library. They made us a great welcome by
inviting us to enter, but a phone call interrupted the idyll, in a moment
everything changed, the clerk that welcome us with great courtesy made us
hastily fill out a form to present them our book, and he quickly dismissed by
us, without even to taking a picture together. Sister Margherita before leaving
wrote a kind application to the Director of Yad Vashem asking him to "emend"
the inscription below the image of 
Pius XII, which at a distance of about a
year took place, according to Her application. We returned to the hotel in the
late afternoon, there was nothing to eat, we were told to try another hotel
nearby, but I misunderstood the way. We took a road with an uneven sidewalk so
that the wheelchair halfway to lost several pieces, which I repaired, so we
went back to our hotel. The next day we went to the Holy Sepulchre. I wasn’t
easy to get there because the way was stepped, and one couldn’t use a
wheelchair. I walked, up the way, Sister Margherita leaned one my arm and on the
other arm I carried the wheelchair. The street was crowded there was nothing to
sit on but luckily whenever Sister Margherita couldn’t stand, some good souls
held out a chair to let her rest. We arrived in time for the Mass, some Friars
led Sister Margaret in a chapel crowded of American pilgrims. After the mass an
American Jesuit who knew Sister Margherita invited her to present our book and give
her Lectio Magistralis, which ended with an appeal from Jerusalem for the
beatification of Pope Pius XII and to the Yad Vashem Museum.
JERUSALEM - Sister Margherita at Yad Vashem
Sister Margaret at the age
of 92 years had come to Rome from the United States for a conference we had
organized at the Capitol, from this Hill - with her Letter to the Romans – she appealed
to the Pope and the City of Rome for the cause of beatification of Pope Pius
XII with the intention to go to Jerusalem to ask the Director of the Yad Vashem
Museum to correct the inscription below the image of the Roman Pontiff at the Holocaust museum .
Unnecessarily I dissuaded Sister
Margherita from going because I knew how many difficulties will have
encountered, but she was adamant. After our visit to the State Secretariat I organized the journey. I had informed of our trip His Beatitude the Latin
Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Italian Embassy but the latter did not respond.
We got up at 4 am. The night
before Mother Vincenza had lent me a wheelchair for Sister Margherita, who
could not walk or stand up for long. When we arrived in Fiumicino Airport it
was still night, I unloaded our bags, Sister Margherita sat in the wheelchair,
but after a few meters I saw that one of the wheels was on the floor. In vain I
sought assistance in the Airport: no one was able to inflate the wheel. I boarded
the wheelchair, because I was sure that at Tel Aviv Airport we would have found
a solution, but after arriving at the airport and having travelled far and
wide, I got desperate when I realized that even there they weren’t able to
inflate a simple wheel and it was Saturday and the next day Sunday, to whom
could I turn to?
I managed to find a taxi with
enough space for our luggage and the wheelchair and I handled the price of 240
Shekel. We arrived in Jerusalem in the afternoon. The hotel was a huge and at the outskirts,
which dominated the city, but the window of my room looked out on a series of
fittings and road junctions, held together by an enormous "pylon and steel
ropes", and when the travel agency called me to check if we were right
there, I complained that I had asked for a room with a window on the old Town, but
I got a room with a "a huge steel pylon"
in front of my window.
JERUSALEM Sister Margherita at the Holy Sepulcher in the Chapel of Resurrection
JERUSALEM Sister Margherita at the Holy Sepulcher in the Chapel of Resurrection
JERUSALEM - Yad Vashem
I returned to the hotel I called my brother in Italy and then to the Patriarchate. Meanwhile, from Yad Vashem I received an email, they knew that we would go there. After dinner, I tried to make other phone calls but my cell phone was blocked and remained so until the return to Rome . I was very tired . Such was the speed in starting that even I was not able to buy a map and a guide of Jerusalem the next day and
did not know which path we should have done . We woke up with bright sunshine, I handled
with a taxi driver the price of 40 Shekel to drive us to the Latin Patriarchate.
After a long drive in the middle of a traffic jam the car began to rise slowly
to the Old City, when the driver arrived at the Jaffa Gate he stopped, there
was construction going on and he could not go further, the cars behind sounded,
we went out in a hurry and the taxi was gone in a flash so under the door of
Jaffa began for me the worst nightmare that could happen to me, we were sealed
in the middle of road construction going on from all sides, dust everywhere and
a chaotic crowd, the noise was so loud that I could not even ask questions to the
pedestrians. I walked through the door of Jaffa dodging a bulldozer and found
myself in a square full of holes, down to a lane that does not lead anywhere,
the wheelchair wobbled a few times with the risk to flip over with Sister Margherita
who was sitting on it. I asked for the way to the Patriarchate, but they nobody
understood, then a woman read my note and told me to go back, so got back to the
Jaffa door and wide making could hardly take the path to the Patriarchate, that
looked close but you never came, hardly pushed the wheelchair with Sister Margherita.
In the time we were almost there we saw several cars go out, and when he
finally knocked, a nun told us that the Patriarch had waited for us, but we
were arriving late and he and the others had left to go to a ceremony in
Hebron. 
Then we went back to the Jaffa gate and there after having negotiated a
price with several taxi drivers one of them agreed to take us to Yad Vashem,
leaving us at the monumental entrance, from where a long path, pushing the
wheelchair of Sister Margherita, came to the pavilion with the 'image of Pope
Pius XII. At that moment there was no one but, as we were finishing up a
prayer, came a large group of visitors, were Italians, and the guide of the
museum began to list the "allegations" to the Pope, written under his
picture. Sister Margherita for a while 'was silent to listen, then with the
Franciscan serenity intervened and began an extraordinary debate between you,
the Jewish leadership and visitors who thronged around, while I was filming
everything with my camera. The guide said that Pius XII had remained silent and
had not defended the Jews and Sister Margaret, showing him the last book we
wrote together with Senator Andreotti, with the names and addresses of hundreds
of Jews who were hidden in convents in Rome and even in the Vatican. There was
a long discussion but at the end as you can see in my filmed those present went
away saying, "Then why did the Sister!" At the time that we were
going out came another group of visitors, this time American, and guidance that
He followed them, like the previous one, also repeated the "accusations"
against Pius XII, and Sister Margherita again - this time in English - refuted
everything with great serenity. The hours passed we had seen other pavilions
and crossed the garden of the righteous among the nations - not long before
with Sister Margherita and the Cardinal Sodano, we inaugurated the Sanctuary of
the Visitation of Santa Marinella "The Pope Pius XII garden and the
righteous of the world . " I was asking the way to the Latin Patriarchate, but nobody understood me, then a woman looked at my note
and told us to go back as far as the
Jaffa Gate, there I made my way through the crows to take take the way to the
Patriarchate, that looked near but you never came to, while I hardly pushed the
wheelchair with Sister Margherita. When we were nearly there we saw several
cars go out, finally I knocked the door and a nun told us that His Beatitude had waited for us, but we were late so he
and the others had left to go to a ceremony in Hebron. So we went back to the
Jaffa gate and there after having negotiated a price with several taxi drivers
one of them agreed to drive us to Yad Vashem, till the monumental entrance. I
walked on a long path, pushing the wheelchair of Sister Margherita into the
pavilion with the 'image of Pope Pius XII. At that moment there was no one but,
as we were finishing our prayer, a large group of visitors entered, they were
Italians, and the guide of the museum began to list the "allegations"
to the Pope, written under his picture. Sister Margherita for a while 'was
silent, then with her Franciscan serenity intervened and an extraordinary
debate began among Heer, the Jewish guide and the visitors who gathered around, while I
was filming everything with my camera. The guide said that Pius XII had
remained silent and had not defended the Jews. Sister Margherita replied and
showed him the last book we wrote together with Senator Andreotti, with the
names and addresses of hundreds of Jews who were hidden in convents in Rome and
even in the Vatican City. There was a long discussion but at the end as one can
see in my video the people went away saying: "well, the Sister is right!" As soon as we were leaving,
another group of visitors entered, and they were Americans. Their guide like
the previous one, repeated the "allegations" against Pius XII. Again
Sister Margherita - this time in English - rebutted everything with great
serenity. The hours passed we visited other pavilions and crossed the Garden of the righteous among the nations.
Not long before with Sister Margaret and the Cardinal Sodano, we inaugurated at
the Sanctuary of the Visitation of Santa Marinella "The garden of Pope Pius XII and the righteous of the world”. Finally
we reached the entrance of the Library. They made us a great welcome by
inviting us to enter, but a phone call interrupted the idyll, in a moment
everything changed, the clerk that welcome us with great courtesy made us
hastily fill out a form to present them our book, and he quickly dismissed by
us, without even to taking a picture together. Sister Margherita before leaving
wrote a kind application to the Director of Yad Vashem asking him to "emend"
the inscription below the image of 
Pius XII, which at a distance of about a
year took place, according to Her application. We returned to the hotel in the
late afternoon, there was nothing to eat, we were told to try another hotel
nearby, but I misunderstood the way. We took a road with an uneven sidewalk so
that the wheelchair halfway to lost several pieces, which I repaired, so we
went back to our hotel. The next day we went to the Holy Sepulchre. I wasn’t
easy to get there because the way was stepped, and one couldn’t use a
wheelchair. I walked, up the way, Sister Margherita leaned one my arm and on the
other arm I carried the wheelchair. The street was crowded there was nothing to
sit on but luckily whenever Sister Margherita couldn’t stand, some good souls
held out a chair to let her rest. We arrived in time for the Mass, some Friars
led Sister Margaret in a chapel crowded of American pilgrims. After the mass an
American Jesuit who knew Sister Margherita invited her to present our book and give
her Lectio Magistralis, which ended with an appeal from Jerusalem for the
beatification of Pope Pius XII and to the Yad Vashem Museum.
At the airport of Tel Aviv
we meet again the Jesuit father. He was leaving for USA. As soon as we arrived
in Rome my cell phone, "as if by magic, began to work again."
However, I regret of being again in Jerusalem without seeing the Way of the
Cross. Only after several months, when they helped me to arrange all the photos
and videos of Jerusalem, someone explained to me that the "iron pylon"
in front of my hotel window was the famous Calatrava’s sculpture "King David’s harp” David's harp, ", the chapel where Sister Margaret
had made his appeal for the beatification of Pope beatification of Pope Pius
XII was the Chapel of the Resurrection and the "way" where I went up
with Sister Margherita hardly walking holding my arm and Her wheelchair on my
shoulder, was the Way of the Cross. Late, but I got it!
(1)
Monsignor
Mario Canciani said about his “agnostic”
friend Moravia: “ we went to Jerusalem and while we were
walking on the Way of the Cross and
talking about Jesus. Suddenly Moravia ,who was agnostic stopped and
visibly touched said : Mario, IF GOD EXISTS, HE IS JESUS! ”.
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