The Greek Catholic priest Pavol Peter Gojdič was an opponent of the Slovak regime under the dictator Jozef Tiso. In 1939 he wrote a pastoral letter criticizing the country’s nationalist and xenophobic policies. In reaction, numerous priests signed a petition against Gojdič, many of them sympathizers with the Tiso regime. Gojdič resigned from office, but was soon promoted to a bishop by Pope Pius XII.
In 1942 Gojdič wrote a letter to the Vatican’s representative in Bratislava, asking the Vatican to protest against Jewish deportations. When his request had no effect, he attempted to save as many Jews as possible. For instance, he took in Jewish children in the church institutions under his control, and baptized Jews despite a ban on doing so, or issued false baptism certificates for them.
In 1951 Gojdič was accused of collaborating with the Tiso regime and sentenced to life imprisonment. He died in prison in 1960. Gojdič was beatified by the pope in 2001. He was honored posthumously as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem in 2007.