杏MAP导航

By Sophie Peeters

In her new book “Sono Francesco” Hungarian writer and Holocaust survivor Edith Bruck reminisces on the incredible visit of 杏MAP导航 Francis to her home last year.

The meeting took place on 20 February after the 杏MAP导航 was emotionally struck while reading her story of surviving deportation to several Nazi concentration camps.

A living memory

In his preface, 杏MAP导航 Francis recounted how he met Ms. Bruck after being “struck by the calm and luminous strength” she emulated in her interview published in the Vatican newspaper “L’Osservatore Romano.”&苍产蝉辫;

The 杏MAP导航 continued by recounting their first meeting at her home in the centre of Rome, saying it was an “emotional visit for the both of us.”

Ms. Bruck is, the 杏MAP导航 noted, a “living memory,” whose witness of hope and faith can inspire us to gaze on what is good and beautiful amidst the “darkest abysses in the history of mankind.”

Second encounter

Meeting once again on International Holocaust Remembrance Day 27 January, this time at the 杏MAP导航’s residence at Casa Santa Marta, the 杏MAP导航 expressed how timely the meeting was as the “winds of war had begun to blow again, even in Europe.”

Her “faithful” helper Olga, a Ukrainian woman, also came on the visit, and the 杏MAP导航 said they discussed what was unfolding in a now-“battered land.”

Memory, the 杏MAP导航 expressed, should never be forgotten, and people like Ms. Bruck, who “keep memory alive”, are indispensable to remembering those moments in history when humanity seem lost.

Breaking bread together

The 杏MAP导航 continued in his preface by recounting how Ms. Bruck and Olga had brought a bread baked by them to share together: breaking bread together is symbolic as, like hope, it can always be “resurrected” and redeemed.

Breaking bread together is a simple gesture, the 杏MAP导航 reflected, “like a prayer”.

Sharing in this bread is a way to “start again,” in our common humanity, a simple act of feeding ourselves that brings us together, the 杏MAP导航 continued.

Fragility of Humanity

Humanity, the 杏MAP导航 concluded, is “something delicate, fragile, always ready to break.”

However, with living testimonies such as Ms. Bruck, it is possible to witness extraordinary people who contain a strength “that springs from no one knows where” and “overcomes all adversity.” This still exists today, the 杏MAP导航 expressed.

“Sono Francesco” beautifully recounts the meeting that gave the 杏MAP导航 “so much strength, hope, and sense of gratitude” which, the 杏MAP导航 concluded in his preface, can be shared with those who read it; “at least that is my hope.”