Egidio Galea (5 May 1918 – 3 January 2005) was a Maltese

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

priest, missionary, and educator, and a significant figure in the Catholic resistance to Nazism in Italy during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He was a close aide to the Irish priest

Hugh O'Flaherty Hugh O'Flaherty (28 February 1898 – 30 October 1963), was an Irish Catholic priest and senior official of the Roman Curia, and a significant figure in Catholic resistance to Nazism. During World War II, O'Flaherty was responsible for savi ...

Biography

Early life and education

Galea was born on 5 May 1918 in

Birgu Birgu ( mt, Il-Birgu , it, Vittoriosa), also known by its title Città Vittoriosa ("''Victorious City''"), is an old fortified city on the south side of the Grand Harbour in the South Eastern Region of Malta. The city occupies a promontory of ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. He studied at the Dockyard School in

Senglea Senglea ( mt, L-Isla ), also known by its title Città Invicta (or Civitas Invicta), is a fortified city in the South Eastern Region of Malta. It is one of the Three Cities in the Grand Harbour area, the other two being Cospicua and Vittorios ...

and later attended the Boys' Secondary School in

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...

. In 1933, Galea entered the

Order of Saint Augustine The Order of Saint Augustine, ( la, Ordo Fratrum Sancti Augustini) abbreviated OSA, is a religious mendicant order of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1244 by bringing together several eremitical groups in the Tuscany region who were fo ...

, and after several years studying philosophy, he was sent to Rome in 1937 to study theology at the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

, where he earned his

Doctor of Sacred Theology The Doctor of Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Doctor, abbreviated STD), also sometimes known as Professor of Sacred Theology (, abbreviated STP), is the final theological degree in the pontifical university system of the Roman Catholic C ...

World War II activities

It was during his time at the Pontifical Gregorian University that Galea met

, an Irish priest who worked in Rome as a Vatican diplomat. O'Flaherty was working to rescue and hide or help escape thousands of Jews and Allied soldiers in Nazi-occupied Italy. O'Flaherty needed help in this endeavor, and Galea became one of his closest aides. During the course of

, O'Flaherty and his aides were responsible for saving more than 6,500 Allied soldiers and Jews. After the

liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

, Galea was made a member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

Later life

In 1945, Galea returned to Malta, where he taught

Scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...

to Augustinian seminarians. Between 1955 and 1961, he was sent to Tunisia, where he worked as a missionary and also taught

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

. In 1961, he returned to Malta, and between 1967 and 1971, he served as the Augustinian provincial superior. Between 1984 and 1990, he was a lecturer at the Augustinian Institute at the

University of Malta The University of Malta (, UM, formerly UOM) is a higher education institution in Malta. It offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, postgraduate master's degrees and postgraduate doctorates. It is a member of the European University Association ...

. Throughout the years, he authored several articles and books, mainly discussing Augustine of Hippo, his life, and the Augustinian Order. Galea died on 3 January 2005 at the age of 86. He is buried at the Santa Maria Addolorata Cemetery in Paola.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Galea, Egidio 1918 births 2005 deaths 20th-century Maltese Roman Catholic priests 20th-century Maltese writers 21st-century Maltese writers Augustinian friars Maltese expatriates in Tunisia Maltese expatriates in Italy Maltese male writers Maltese people of World War II Maltese Roman Catholic missionaries Members of the Order of the British Empire People who rescued Jews during the Holocaust People from Birgu Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Roman Catholic missionaries in Tunisia Burials at Addolorata Cemetery, Paola Maltese non-fiction writers Male non-fiction writers