Per Anger Prize 2004
Gennaro Verolino, one of the unsung heroes of Budapest in 1944
Gennaro Verolino is being awarded the Per Anger Prize, instituted this year by the Swedish Government in memory of ambassador Per Anger. The Prize aims to promote and reward humanitarian work and initiatives in the name of Democracy. The award ceremony will be held on 1 October 2004 at the Swedish Institute in Rome.
For showing the best aspects of man at a time of such inhumanity, H.E. The Most Reverend Gennaro Verolino is hereby awarded the 2004 Per Anger Prize for Humanitarian Work and Initiatives in the Name of Democracy. The Living History Nomination Forum
Gennaro Verolino, then a 38 year-old priest at the Vatican embassy, risked his life while undertaking major initiatives to provide Jews with protective papers. He showed great courage and did everything he could to save as many people from Nazi persecution as possible. He is one of the last surviving diplomats in the Swedish delegation in Budapest who bore witness to the events of 1944.
In 1944 Verolino was secretary at the Papal Nunciature (Embassy) in Budapest and subsequently occupied a number of positions including papal legate. Today, some 60 years later, Archbishop Gennaro Verolino lives in Rome. The dedication and selfless devotion displayed by both Gennaro Verolino and Per Anger are a shining example for present and future generations.
It was the Anger family’s expressed wish that the prize at the inaugural ceremony should be awarded to Gennaro Verolino, who today lives in Rome.