Don Martino Michelone: Righteous Among the Nations

Don Martino Michelone (1907-1979) was a parish priest in a small town when he came to the aid of the Segre family. The priest was a client of Riccardo Segre, a textile merchant, and when the Nazi occupation of Italy threatened the lives of the Jews, Don Martino invited Riccardo, his wife Angela, their little son Lucciano and an aunt, Elvira, to come and hide in the presbytery of the parish. The family was hidden by the courageous priest from 1943 to 1945 in an attic above the church. The priest himself was under constant threat from the Nazis because of persistent support of the Italian partisans and himself had to spend time hiding in the forests, sustained by the help of his parishioners.

At the ceremony, held in the square of Moransengo, the Israeli ambassador, representatives from Yad VaShem, representatives of the Italian Jewish community and surviving members of the Segre family met with the present parish priest and civil authorities to celebrate the life and courage of a new Righteous among the Nations, joining the circa 500 other Italians, of whom more than 30 are Catholic priests, who have received this recognition from Yad VaShem.