Pope Leo XIV meets head of Israel’s Holocaust memorial center
Pope Leo XIV held a meeting with the chairman of Israel’s Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center at the Vatican on March 23, 2026. Yad Vashem chairman Dani Dayan described the audience as warm and constructive, focusing on Holocaust remembrance and research. The discussion addressed the alarming worldwide rise in antisemitism and the necessity for decisive, coordinated action against it. Dayan emphasized the importance of Vatican archival records for expanding knowledge about Jewish victims and survivors of the Holocaust. Potential collaboration areas between the Vatican and Yad Vashem concerning Holocaust commemoration, documentation, and education were discussed.
3 days ago
Pope Leo XIV met Dani Dayan, chairman of Yad Vashem, at the Vatican on March 23, 2026.1 2 3
Israel's ambassador to the Holy See, Yaron Sideman, also attended.2 3
The encounter was described as warm and constructive by Yad Vashem.1
The discussion centered on preserving Holocaust memory, research, and education.1 2 3
Dayan highlighted Vatican archives' value for documenting Jewish victims and survivors.1
The pope reaffirmed his commitment to these shared goals.1
Participants addressed the global surge in antisemitism, calling for decisive action.1 2 3
Dayan stressed Holocaust knowledge as a key tool against it, linking past atrocities to present threats.2 3
He found full agreement with the pope that antisemitism must be combated without reservation.2 3
Dayan called antisemitism "bigotry" and "racism," independent of Israeli policies.2 3
It unites extremists across ideologies, from left-wing to Islamist.2 3
He separated it from politics, emphasizing remembrance as a moral duty to 6 million victims.2 3
Dayan gifted the pope a reproduction of "Where Art Thou?" by Carol Deutsch, a Jewish painter killed in the Holocaust.1 2 3
The artwork, from 1941, evoked Pope Francis' Yad Vashem question: "Where was humanity?"2 3
Talks explored Vatican-Yad Vashem partnerships in commemoration and documentation.1
Dayan invited Pope Leo XIV to visit Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, following predecessors like Francis in 2014.1 2 3
A visit was hoped for "when circumstances allow."2 3
Holocaust memory motivates peace as an imperative, per Dayan.2 3
It underscores preventing future genocides against any people.2 3
Dayan lamented ongoing wars and antisemitism despite past lessons.2 3
Holocaust memory as tool against global antisemitism
The Catholic Church teaches that memory of the Shoah (Holocaust) serves as a vital instrument against global antisemitism, transforming historical tragedy into a call for repentance, justice, and fraternal dialogue between Christians and Jews. This remembrance is not vengeful but oriented toward overcoming evil with good, rejecting racism, and fostering mutual respect to prevent future atrocities. Drawing from papal addresses and official documents, the Church emphasizes that recalling the Shoah awakens consciences, combats denial or trivialization, and builds a shared future rooted in Abrahamic faith.
The Church's magisterial documents frame Holocaust memory as a "moral imperative" essential for confronting antisemitism. In We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah (1998), the Commission for Religious Relations with Judaism describes the Shoah as a "symbol of the aberrations of which man is capable when he turns against God," urging Christians to meditate on this catastrophe to ensure "never again will selfishness and hatred grow to the point of sowing such suffering and death." This document links remembrance to Nostra Aetate (1965), noting the Council's context amid World War II persecutions, and calls for ongoing reflection even in areas without Jewish communities, as Jewish-Christian relations concern the Church's own mystery.
Pope John Paul II repeatedly reinforced this in speeches, such as at Yad Vashem (2000), where he stated: "We wish to remember. But we wish to remember for a purpose, namely to ensure that never again will evil prevail, as it did for the millions of innocent victims of Nazism." He attributed the Holocaust to a "Godless ideology," underscoring that contempt for God leads to contempt for humanity. Similarly, in his 1997 address to a symposium on anti-Judaism's roots, he condemned "erroneous and unjust interpretations of the New Testament" that fueled hostility, contributing to insufficient Christian resistance during the Shoah.
These sources highlight the Church's repentance: "The Catholic Church... expresses her deep sorrow for the failures of her sons and daughters in every age," linking past guilt to teshuva (repentance) and a commitment against genocide and racism.
Catholic teaching positions Shoah memory as an active weapon against resurgent antisemitism through education and conscience formation. John Paul II, addressing Jewish representatives in 1991, warned of "disquieting signs" of antisemitism's return and called for teaching consciences to view it as a "sin against God and humanity," proposing joint local committees for cooperation. In We Remember, memory is "memoria futuri" (memory of the future)—"there is no future without memory"—to uproot "spoiled seeds of anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism" from hearts.
At Yad Vashem, he prayed for a "new relationship" free of anti-Jewish or anti-Christian sentiment, heeding the "warning... from the victims of the Holocaust and... survivors" so that "memory lives on, and burns itself onto our souls." This echoes his 1995 address to the American Jewish Committee, where Shoah memory impels joint work for justice, as all humans bear God's image (Gen 1:26-27). Pope Paul VI in 1975 similarly rejected "every form of antisemitism," inviting dialogue to know the "essential traits" of Jewish self-definition.
Scholarly sources affirm historical papal protection, noting popes like Gregory X offered Jews a "shield," condemning blood libels, while modern popes like Pius XI declared in 1938: "Anti-Semitism is inadmissible; spiritually, we are all Semites."
Holocaust memory propels Catholic-Jewish relations toward brotherhood. John Paul II described Jews as "our elder brothers," urging renewal of Hebrew roots awareness—Jesus as David's descendant, Mary and Apostles as Jews—and grafting onto the "good olive tree" (Rom 11:17-24). In his 1986 Rome Synagogue visit, he deplored "all outbursts of hatred... and manifestations of antisemitism... from any source," condemning the "genocide... [leading] to the Holocaust of millions."
Documents stress reciprocity: commemorating Shoah victims unites in justice, honoring "just gentiles" who saved Jews, including Apostolic See actions. In 1993, to Polish Jews, he called for unity against "indifference and prejudice," being a "blessing" like Abraham (Gen 12:2). This builds "a new civilization founded on the one, holy and merciful God," with Israel as eschatological pilgrimage symbol.
Catholic sources unanimously present Holocaust memory as a transformative tool against global antisemitism: a call to repentance, education, and dialogue that honors victims, rejects racism, and secures peace. By remembering without vengeance—to pray for justice and commit to good—the Church and Jews advance mutual respect, ensuring "evil does not prevail over good." This fidelity to Gospel truth (overcoming evil with good) remains urgent amid ongoing threats.