Pope Francis at Yad Vashem

Memorial Ceremony in the Hall of Remembrance

- “A Walk to Caesarea” – the Ankor Choir under the direction of Dafna Ben Yohanan

- Rekindling of the Eternal Flame – His Holiness Pope Francis

- Reading of the Identification (in Italian) – Dr. Iael Nidam-Orvieto

- Laying of the wreath - His Holiness Pope Francis, assisted by: Eva Kolodkina – a seventh-grade student at the Frères Catholic school in Jaffa and Hoang Huy Nguyen – a ninth-grade student at the Alliance high school in Tel Aviv.

- Excerpt from the last letter of Ida Goldish, who perished in the Holocaust – Dr. Iael Nidam-Orvieto (in Italian) (Read text here)

- El Maleh Rahamim – Cantor Asher Hainowitz

- Greeting six Holocaust survivors - Avraham Harshalom, Chava Shik, Joseph Gottdenker, Moshe Ha-Elion, Eliezer Grynfeld and Sonia Tunik-Geron. Three of the six were saved by Righteous Among the Nations. (Read their stories here)

- Address – His Holiness Pope Francis

- Signing of the Yad Vashem Guest Book

- Presentation to His Holiness the Pope – Replica of the painting “Prayer”, created by Abraham (Abramek) Koplowicz in the Lodz ghetto. Abramek was murdered in Auschwitz at the age of 14. Presentation - Avner Shalev, Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate (View painting here)

- “Mi Ha’Ish” – the Ankor Choir