Hugh O’Flaherty: The Irish Priest Who Resisted the Nazis

Meg Herriot reviews Hugh O’Flaherty: The Irish Priest Who Resisted the Nazis, a new book for middle-grade readers from Ignatius Press.

Hugh O’Flaherty: The Irish Priest Who Resisted the Nazis was a well-written book that I read together with my 10-year-old son. I am glad we read this together, as any book that is World War II genre is probably best done with parental supervision. I have already read a couple of books about Monsignor O’Flaherty and I think this was by far the best. It was also great I could share the story with my son. 

The author, Fiorella de Maria, did a great job at making Monsignor O’Flaherty accessible. From his love of golf and sense of humor and value on friendship, both my son and I were able to relate to him. While there were some intense parts that my son and I needed to talk about as they came up (some of the atrocities in Italy and in concentration camps were mentioned), the book was tactfully written. I wouldn’t recommend a tween read this on his or her own as it is rather difficult material to read. This was a great story of moral character, overcoming challenges and being true to the Faith, no matter how risky the circumstances.  

I am looking forward to periodically reading this book with my son to re-enforce these values. As evidence of how engaging this book was, at one point while reading, we got interrupted and I just had to read ahead. As soon as my son was able to return, he was engrossed and had to catch up to where I was and could not be interrupted. A great story about a great and holy man. My family recommends and enjoys this book but I would recommend parental guidance for younger or naïve kids based on the subject. 

Ask for Hugh O’Flaherty: The Irish Priest Who Resisted the Nazis at your local Catholic bookseller, or order online from Amazon.com or the publisher, Ignatius Press.

Copyright 2023 Meg Herriot
Images: Canva
This article contains Amazon affiliate links, which provide a small compensation to the author of this piece when purchases are made through the links, at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting our Catholic Mom writers in this way.