My Father's House, O'Connor - B

                      This the first novel in a trilogy featuring Msgr. Hugh O'Flaherty, an Irish priest assigned to the Vatican. The time is late 1943, after the Germans had occupied Rome in September.  O'Flaherty arranges for downed Allied airmen, escaped POW's and Jews to hide in and around the Vatican. He recruits locals and plans an escape for Christmas Eve. Hundreds are hustled out to the countryside. The Gestapo know the Monsignor is behind it and desire to capture him, but he never leaves the Vatican. Although a novel, this is a true story. Msgr. O'Flaherty is believed to have saved 6,500 souls during the war, was knighted by Great Britain, and honored by all of the Allied powers.