a joint service of Jews and Catholics held at Shir Ha-Ma'alot synagogue in Irvine, California, along with an invitation from Pope John Paul II for her to have an audience with him. The papal blessing and audience with the Pope had been obtained for her by congregant Alan Boinus with the help of Monsignor Joseph Karp of the Polish Catholic Church in Yorba Linda, California. The papal blessing was the first recognition by the Roman Catholic Church of her efforts during the Holocaust. Opdyke said, "This is the greatest gift I can receive for whatever I did in my life." ABC Primetime Live trip to Israel In July 1997, Opdyke traveled to Israel with her manager, Alan Boinus, and his wife, publicist Rosalie Boinus, on a television story arranged by the Boinuses for ABC Primetime Live, which aired on 10 June 1998, re-uniting Opdyke with Hermann Morks, one of the twelve Jews whose lives she saved. On the trip, Alan Boinus arranged for private meetings with Opdyke at the Knesset with former President and Prime Minister of Israel Shimon Peres and Speaker of the Knesset Dan Tichon. Boinus also arranged for other meetings in Israel for Opdyke with Mordecai Paldiel, Director of the Department of the Righteous Among the Nations at Yad Vashem, and with Holocaust survivor Roman Haller, the baby Opdyke saved during the war by convincing his parents, Ida and Lazar Haller (two of the twelve Jews Opdyke was hiding in Rügemer's cellar), that Ida should carry the child to term after she became pregnant while hiding in the cellar. After the war, the Hallers took in Rügemer as their house guest for saving their lives. Rügemer became "Zeide" (grandfather) to Roman Haller. Roman Haller served as director of the German office of the Claims Conference, which represents world Jewry in negotiating restitution for the victims of Nazi persecution. Memoir Opdyke's memoir, In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer (Alfred A. Knopf; later ), was arranged by her then-manager Alan Boinus and published in 1999 through Random House, with co-author Jennifer Armstrong. Alan Boinus and his wife, Rosalie Boinus, among others, are thanked by Opdyke in the acknowledgements. Irene Gut Opdyke Holocaust Rescuer Foundation The Irene Gut Opdyke Holocaust Rescuer Foundation was founded in 1997 by Alan and Rosalie Boinus in honor of Opdyke to offer awards, grants, and scholarships to young people inspired by the heroic