Vatican City, Mar 17, 2020 / 10:05 am
Msgr. Hugh O'Flaherty, an Irish priest who hid Italian Jews from the Nazis and went on to baptize the former head of the Gestapo in Rome, is world renowned for the heroism he displayed during and after World War II.
They called him the "Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican."
Many of his exploits were portrayed in the 1983 movie "The Scarlet and the Black." But more details could soon be revealed to the public, as the Vatican archives from the pontificate of Pius XII (1939 - 1958) were recently opened to historians, and mention of O'Flaherty's work is sure to draw the interest of scholars.
Born in County Cork in 1898, O'Flaherty grew up in Killarney playing golf on the course where his father worked as a steward before discerning his vocation to the priesthood.