When a Pope defied the Nazis outside the basilica of St. Lawrence - Deacon Greg Kandra

When a Pope defied the Nazis outside the basilica of St. Lawrence - Deacon Greg Kandra

As we mark the saint’s feast today, here’s a look back at a powerful moment of recent history, via John Allen in  Crux:  It was 11:03 a.m. on July 19, 1943, when some 500 American planes under the command of General James “Jimmy” Doolittle began dropping more than 4,000 bombs on the Eternal City, altogether amounting to more than 1,000 tons of explosives. The worst damage came to the Roman neighborhood of San Lorenzo, home of the famed Basilica …