If you like poignant lessons in courage, Hugh O’Flaherty’s story should interest you. He is an unsung hero of the Second World War, often referred to as the “Irish Oskar Schindler”. This discreet, yet deeply convinced man of the cloth is known to have saved the lives of no fewer than 6,500 people from the Nazis during the Second World War, when he was a monsignor in Italy. A man of courage and bravery, who never hesitated to take risks to save his fellow man. A look back at the life of an Irish priest, capable of any sacrifice.
Hugh O’Flaherty was born on February 28, 1898 in the small village of Lisrobin, Kiskeam, County Cork, Ireland. His father was a member of the Royal Irish Police in Tralee until 1909, when the family moved to Killarney.
It was here that his father became the manager of a golf course. Living locally, Hugh O’Flaherty practiced the sport intensively and became a serious competitor in his teens.
From an early age, Hugh was immersed in religion. His family brought him up to respect many values, such as Christian charity, the strength of faith, and the need to do good around us.
Initially, he intended to become a teacher… But in 1918 he joined the Jesuit Mungret College in Limerick to become a missionary.
Cultivating empathy, he was arrested in 1921 with comrades for offering condolences to a family whose members had been killed by the British during the Irish War of Independence. The affair caused a scandal, but Hugh was soon released, thanks to the intervention of the principal of Mungret College.
In 1922, he was sent to Rome to complete his studies, financed by the Bishop of Cape Town in South Africa, Cornelius O’Reilly. He obtained degrees in theology, divinity, canon law and philosophy.
He was finally ordained a priest on December 20, 1925. He was also appointed Vatican ambassador to Egypt, Haiti, Santo Domingo and Czechoslovakia.
In 1934, he was appointed Monsignor.
It was during the Second World War that Hugh O’Flaherty became an emblematic figure of Catholic resistance to Nazism. At the time, he was living in Italy, near Rome.
Aware of the danger facing Italian Jews and the country’s aristocratic anti-fascists, he decides to hide everyone he can… His strategy: he hides them in monasteries and convents, but also in his former college and in his own home.
He organized their gradual evacuation when the time was right, helping thousands of Italian and anti-Fascist Jews to escape.
In the spring of 1943, Hugh O’Flaherty expanded his operation to include British prisoners of war and Allied airmen. To accommodate more and more of them, he is even developing a vast network of safe apartments in Rome, where they can hide out.
All this is done against the backdrop of German-occupied Rome, where the risks taken are maximum.
Fortunately, Hugh O’Flaherty uses his status as a clergyman to keep up appearances… What’s more, the Irishman never failed to disguise himself during his operations to enable his protégés to escape.
This was enough to go unnoticed by the Germans of the time, and to thwart the vigilance of the Gestapo and the Sicherheitsdienst (SD)!
In all, it is estimated that Monsignor O’Flaherty saved almost 6,500 people from the Nazis. Her talent earned her the nickname of “the Vatican’s Scarlet Pimpernel”.
Although he is less well known than Oskar Schindler, his work nevertheless had a decisive influence on the lives of thousands of men, women and children. A symbol of bravery, and the pride of Killarney and Ireland!
After the war, Hugh O’Flaherty won acclaim for his work, and was appointed papal domestic prelate by Pope Pius XII.
He was honored with many prestigious distinctions, including the title of Commander of the British Empire and the Congressional Medal of Freedom. He was also the first Irishman to be appointed Notary of the Holy Office.
On retirement, O’Flaherty decided to return to his native island. He moved to Cahersiveen in Ireland, where he spent three years… before dying on October 30, 1963.
His death came as a shock to the whole of Ireland, but also to international countries such as America, France and Italy. We salute his work during the Second World War: people who were saved testify to his commitment and courage. Tributes flocked to Killarney from all quarters, and the man became a hero.
Since then, the town of Killarney has even dedicated a memorial to him in 2103: a representation of Hugh O’Flaherty, in his clerical robes. Book in hand, round glasses on his nose, he is depicted in all his goodness and simplicity. On a wall behind him are his awards, and an explanation of his work.
3.67/5 (21 votes)
