Chief rabbi of Rome of 51 years dies at 99

Elio Toaff, who served as the chief rabbi of Rome for 51 years, has died, two weeks before his 100th birthday.

Toaff, who died on Sunday, served as chief rabbi from 1951 to 2002, and is considered an important figure in the history of Italy and European Jewry.

He welcomed pope John Paul II on his historic April 1986 visit to the Great Synagogue, the first known visit by a pope to a synagogue in some 2,000 years.

During the World War II, already a rabbi, Toaff fought Nazi fascism with the Italian partisans and witnessed the crimes committed by the Nazis in the Sant’Anna di Stazzema massacre.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, expressing his solidarity with Roman and Italian Jews, declared following the announcement of Toaff’s death: “We have lost a giant.”

Renzo Gattegna, president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, said: “He was a leader and a point of reference. We will never forget him.”

He will be buried Monday afternoon in the Jewish cemetery in his hometown of Leghorn.