An amazing hero: Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty

By Pat Kenny

During the Second World War, an Irish priest saved the lives of 6,500 prisoners. His headquarters was inside the German College next to St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, likened to the Irish Schindler, or a Michael Collins, remains a largely unsung hero despite his fearless defiance of the Third Reich. Saving countless lives, he provided sanctuary in the most unlikely of places: flats, farms, convents and monasteries.

Born in County Cork in 1898, raised in Killarney, Hugh O’Flaherty was called to the priesthood and his path led him to the halls of Mungret College, County Limerick and later into the service of the Vatican, where he soon became a beacon of hope for those ensnared by the horrors of war. Fr Hugh was particularly disgusted by what the Nazis were up to.

He smuggled out people disguised as nuns and monks, passed partisans off as Swiss guards and hid thousands of prisoners of war who had flocked to him on the steps of St Peter’s. They were seeking the sanctuary of the church at a time when Hitler recognised the Vatican’s neutrality, all under the noses of Nazi guards. He was also fond of the odd disguise himself — once as a coalman to evade a Nazi raid. He was even rumoured to have dressed as a nun.

As the Nazis did their worst, Monsignor Hugh did his best. He refused to stand idly by. With daring and fearless bravery, he set out on a mission to defy the Nazis, rallying allies in the most unexpected places. Operating under the watchful gaze of the Vatican, Monsignor Hugh, along with two other priests from New Zealand, orchestrated a network that would ultimately save thousands of allied soldiers and persecuted Jews, from the clutches of the Gestapo.

He offered sanctuary and his safe houses became havens of hope under his watchful eye. In an extraordinary game of cat and mouse, Monsignor Hugh orchestrated the largest covert rescue operation in occupied territory, spiriting away thousands of prisoners, including British, Russian, Polish, and American, One apartment used as a clearing house was right beside the Gestapo HQ — “sure the last place they’ll look is under their noses”, said Monsignor Hugh.

His daring exploits did not go unnoticed. The notorious Nazi Herbert Kappler, with his baddie’s scar on his left cheek, was fixated on capturing the elusive cleric. Yet, despite the constant threat of arrest and unimaginable dangers, Monsignor Hugh remained defiant and evaded the commander.

Presbyterian Bill Simpson described Hugh as his “favourite hero” and remarked that “not once did he speak religion or ram God down anyone’s throat”.

In an astonishing postscript, the monsignor was one of the few people to visit his old adversary, Herbert Kappler, in prison, the epitome of the “only following orders” Nazi. Several years later, Monsignor Hugh Baptised Kappler into the Catholic Church.

After the war, Monsignor Hugh was showered with honours: a Knight of the British Empire, a Congressional medal from the United States, a pension that he never claimed from the Italian government. Eight million viewers tuned in to watch him in 1963 on BBC’s ‘This Is Your Life’. He was even recreated on the silver screen in the 1983 film ‘The Scarlet and the Black’ starring Gregory Peck.

Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty died in 1963 and is buried in the cemetery of the Daniel O’Connell Memorial Church, Cahersiveen. There’s a monument to him in Killarney.

Pat Kenny is a member of Inklings Writing Group, who meet on Tuesdays 11am in the Annebrook House Hotel. Visitors welcome.