On November 7, 2000, during the First Congress of Christian Culture in Lublin, Chief Rabbi of Rome Elio Toaff was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Catholic University of Lublin. It was he who welcomed two popes—John Paul II and Benedict XVI—to the Roman synagogue, creating more than just symbolic bridges between Judaism and Christianity.
Historical tribute in Lublin
The tribute paid to Rabbi Toaff by the Catholic University of Lublin (KUL) 25 years ago was an exceptional event not only in the history of the university, but also in the history of Catholic-Jewish dialogue in Poland. The decision to award the title was made by the KUL Senate on September 28, 2000, and the ceremony took place on November 7, as part of the first Congress of Christian Culture.
At that time, honorary doctorates were awarded to representatives of three different traditions and religions. Along with Toaff, the title was awarded to Romanian Patriarch Teoctist and Cardinal William Keeler from the USA. As recorded in the Senate minutes, the distinction awarded to the rabbi of Rome was in recognition of his “great contributions to the rapprochement between Jews and Christians, especially the dialogue between the Synagogue and the Catholic Church, and the promotion of scientific and cultural cooperation in this spirit.”
Meetings that changed history
Elio Toaff was born in 1915 into a Jewish family in Livorno. From 1951, he served as Chief Rabbi of Rome. During World War II, he supported the Italian resistance movement and, while hiding from persecution himself, helped Jewish refugees. After the war, he became one of the most important spiritual leaders of Italian Judaism and a spokesman for reconciliation between religions.
Meetings that changed history
On April 13, 1986, Toaff welcomed Pope John Paul II to the Great Synagogue in Rome, the first Bishop of Rome in history to visit a Jewish place of worship. There, the Pope uttered words that went down in history: “You are our elder brothers.”
The embrace between Toaff and John Paul II became one of the most recognizable images of interreligious dialogue in the 20th century.
Twenty-four years later, on January 17, 2010, in the same synagogue, Rabbi Toaff, now retired, welcomed Benedict XVI. The Pope said at the time that the Second Vatican Council “gave a decisive impetus to embarking with commitment and irrevocably on the path of dialogue, brotherhood, and friendship.”
Lublin as a meeting place
The honor bestowed upon Toaff by KUL had a deeply symbolic dimension. In Lublin, the city where Karol Wojtyła's theological thought matured, a man who helped shape the history of papal dialogue with Judaism was honored.
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