Carreira Joaquim

Carreira, Joaquim Joaquim Carreira was born in 1908 in a village near Fátima, Portugal, a Christian pilgrimage site whose fame was based on apparitions of the Virgin Mary reportedly experienced by three shepherd children. Carreira was ordained as a priest in 1931, but he also trained as a pilot and was known as Padre Aviador (the aviator father). In 1940 he moved to Italy and became the rector of the Pontificio Collegio Portoghese—the Pontifical Portuguese College—which housed Portuguese priests who studied in Italian universities. When Italy was occupied by the Germans in September 1943, Carreira offered shelter to a number of people persecuted by the Nazis, including three members of the Cittone family: Elio, his father, Roberto, and his uncle, Isacco. In the very detailed diary Carreira kept, he wrote: “I gave shelter and a roof to people who were persecuted based on inhuman laws.” Although Father Carreira hung a sign outside the building saying that it was church territory, the Germans conducted a search. All the fugitives were able to hide, and no one was found, but the Cittones were scared and decided to leave and find another hiding place. Elio Cittone said: “I will always be grateful to Padre Aviador, who saved my life.” On September 4, 2014, Yad Vashem recognized Father Joaquim Carreira as Righteous Among the Nations.