Gary Krupp, a Jewish papal knight from Wantagh, says 'very special' Benedict was 'pensive, brilliant, scholarly'

While most Long Islanders woke up Saturday to news from the Vatican about the retired pontiff's death, the Vatican awakened Gary Krupp with the news.

Krupp, a 75-year-old Jewish papal knight who met with Pope Benedict XVI on 19 occasions, had a close and unique connection to the man. So much so that the Wantagh resident got calls from Rome notifying him of Benedict's passing Saturday.

“He was just a fantastic, very shy, very pensive, brilliant, scholarly … he was a very special person,” Krupp said.

Krupp, who a New York Times columnist once described as “the Vatican’s most outspoken Jewish ally,” heads Pave the Way Foundation, a nonsectarian organization whose mission is to identify and eliminate nontheological obstacles between religions.

His most notable work with the Vatican centered on whether Pope Pius XII, the pontiff during World War II, did enough to save Jews from the Holocaust.

Krupp said his organization’s work extended beyond Catholicism and Judaism to many other religions, but was not religious work.

“We deal with obstacles and problems and so it's unusual,” he said. “We don't deal with religion ever. That's like walking in deep mud.”

Krupp received the honorary title as Commendatore Gary Krupp, Knight Commander of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great from Pope John Paul II in 2000.

A former medical facilities developer, he was awarded his title after renegotiating an equipment deal that saved an Italian hospital millions of dollars.

Benedict, who had a love of history, gave Krupp papal authority to use Vatican documents on his organization’s website free of copyright restrictions.

Krupp said his relationship with Benedict, who came of age in Nazi Germany as Pius XII led the Roman Catholic Church, grew from the respect the retired pope had for his organization’s work toward religious reconciliation.

As a member of the papal household, Krupp was notified of the retired pope’s death via a telephone call from the Vatican secretary of state at 4 a.m. Saturday.

“We sort of expected this to happen,” Krupp said of Benedict’s death, saying he had gotten health updates from a German colleague. “This is what life is.”

Krupp noted that Benedict did a lot of work to advance his foundation’s mission, saying they “now have an advocate in heaven.”

“He was a loving man,” Krupp said. “It’s very, very sad.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Gary Krupp's former job.

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.