Marguerite Bernes was born in the French colony of Algeria. She became a Catholic nun at the age of 27. In 1933 she moved to Italy and joined a convent in Rome. The convent was located opposite the Church of San Giaocchino, where Marguerite Bernes ran the soup kitchen.
After northern Italy was occupied by the Germans on September 8, 1943, many people sought refuge in the church. Bernes helped the priest to take care of them. In October 1943 the Jewish Moscati family turned to the San Gioacchino church community for help. Marguerite Bernes hid Leopoldo Moscati’s mother Virginia Volterra in the convent; her husband and son stayed in the church.
In January 1944 Arrigo Finzi’s Jewish family also hid in the church. His older sister Nora and their mother Anita were concealed in the convent. Marguerite Bernes provided food for all those hiding in the church and the convent.
After the war, Marguerite Bernes initially remained in Rome, later living in Israel and Egypt. In August 1974 she was honored by the Israeli Holocaust memorial center Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations.