As a young man, he studied at
Gregorian University. While in Rome he met and became friends with Monsignor
Giovanni Battista Montini (the future
Pope Paul VI). He was ordained into the priesthood in 1938 and two years later, was appointed secretary to the Archbishop of
Genoa Pietro Boetto. Genoa in the meantime was chosen as the headquarters of
DELASEM, a legal Jewish organization chaired by the lawyer Avvocato
Lelio Vittorio Valobra, dedicated to providing assistance to the growing number of Jewish refugees in Italy. In 1944, Archbishop
Filippo Bernardini, Apostolic Nuncio in
Bern, was instrumental in maintaining the lines of communication between Valobra (settled in
Zurich) and Father Repetto, who was still in Genoa. At the Genoa Curia, many letters arrived from Jews in the
Vatican seeking news of their relatives and acquaintances in northern Italy. To manage the difficult task of distributing funds, Father Repetto benefitted from the cooperation of some willing “money couriers”, such as Jewish couriers
Raffaele Cantoni,
Giorgio Nissim or Salvatore Jona. A large group of priests also acted in this capacity, among them Father Giovanni De Micheli; Father
Alessandro Piazza (who at the time was Bishop of
Albenga); Father Gian Maria Rotondi; Father Carlo Salvi; Father Natale Traverso; Father Raffaele Storace, and Father Giuseppe Viola. These priests were sent on missions to various episcopal curiae, in
Tuscany,
Umbria,
Marche,
Piedmont,
Valle d'Aosta,
Lombardy and
Veneto, in visits carefully planned by Father Repetto. The links of solidarity that radiated out from Genoa to various localities allowed for an almost regular arrival of funds essential to the survival of thousands of Jews in central and northern Italy during the German occupation. Father Repetto developed many contacts with Father Giuseppe Bicchierai in Milan who was also secretary to the Cardinal. Schuster was a valuable contact as he was
chaplain at Milan's prison of
San Vittore. In Turin, contacts were with Monsignor Vincenzo Barale, secretary of the Cardinal. In Florence, Cardinal Dalla Costa delegated his secretary, Monsignor Giacomo Meneghello and the
Rector of the Seminary, Monsignor
Enrico Bartoletti, along with Father Leto Casini, Father Cipriano Ricotti, Father Giulio Facibeni, Giorgio La Pira and Adone Zoli as contacts. The list of local contacts is extensive, including Father
Raimondo Viale in
Borgo San Dalmazzo, Father Bruno Beccari and Giuseppe Moreali in Nonantola,
Giorgio Nissim and Father Arturo Paoli in Lucca,
Mario Finzi in Bologna, fathers Aldo Brunacci and Rufino Nicacci in Assisi, Father
Maria Benedetto, Angelo De Fiore,
Settimo Sorani, and Sorani's assistant Giuseppe Levi in Rome. Among the best-known couriers in the project was cyclist and eventual
Tour de France champion
Gino Bartali. Repetto - who has long been the
Prefect of the
Biblioteca Franzoniana - decided to take refuge in the mountains to avoid being captured and tried for his actions, finding safe haven in Val Bisogno in
Molassana in July 1944. ==Acknowledgements==