Abstract

During the Second World War, many of the Italians residing on the Fourth Shore were evacuated to their motherland. In the years that followed, many found themselves separated from their families, facing economic hardship, and stranded in refugee camps, and some ultimately decided to return to Libya in clandestine trips. The return of the so-called «Italians from Libya» was hampered not only by logistical problems, but also by the firm opposition of the British Military Administration, which was against increasing the Italian population in Libya. This contribution contextualizes an unpublished typescript of a Franciscan bishop, Monsignor Camillo Vittorino Facchinetti, and examines his commitment to supporting the Italian refugees who tried to return to Libya after the Italian colony had passed into the hands of the Bma. Through an analysis of the repatriation efforts by the Commissione Soccorsi and the Pontificia Commissione di Assistenza Profughi (Holy See Committee for Refugee Assistance), the essay analyzes the efforts made in favor of Italian refugees from Africa, contributing to the scholarship on Vatican humanitarianism after the Second World War