The Vatican Pimpernel: Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty

He was hunted by the Gestapo, with a bounty on his head. Yet Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty—an Irish priest from Killarney—saved over 6,500 Allied prisoners, Jews, and civilians in Nazi-occupied Rome. Known as the “Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican,” O’Flaherty built a vast escape network under the eyes of the Gestapo, using disguises, safe houses, and sheer courage to defy fascism. This episode of the History and Heritage Podcast tells his remarkable story—from his early life in Kerry, through his rise in the Vatican, to his wartime heroics and quiet postwar years. It’s a story of faith, defiance, and moral courage, summed up in his enduring motto: “God has no country.”