Cardinal Lustiger to represent Vatican at Auschwitz commemoration

Published: 2005-01-11

VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Pope John Paul II named a Jewish-born cardinal whose mother died at a Nazi death camp to represent the Holy See at an event commemorating the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger of Paris will represent the Vatican at the Jan. 27 event in Oswiecim, Poland, the Vatican said. The event, organized by the National Memory and Martyrdom Council in Poland, was set to bring together more than 30 heads of state from across Europe and Israel. The day commemorates the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp Jan. 27, 1945. More than 1 million people were killed at the camp by the Nazis. The daylong anniversary event was to include an ecumenical prayer service with a rabbi and members of the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant churches.

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