Sixtus O'Connor
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Sixtus O'Connor (March 15, 1909, Oxford, New York – July 10, 1983,
Loudonville, New York Loudonville is a hamlet in the town of Colonie, in Albany County, New York, United States. Loudonville was a census-designated place in the 1970, 1980, and 1990 US Census, but ceased to be in the 2000 Census, but became a CDP again in 2020. Hist ...
) was an American priest and served as pastor during the Nuremberg Trials to Catholic prison inmates. Richard James O'Connor was one of seven children of John O'Connor and Elizabeth Ann Cooke. He originally learned German from his mother. O'Connor attended St. Bonaventure College in
Allegany, New York Allegany is a town in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. The population was 7,493 at the 2020 census. The Town of Allegany is on the south border of the county, west of the City of Olean. There is a village named Allegany inside th ...
and on 19 August 1929 he entered the
Franciscan Order , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...
in Patterson, New York, making his temporal vows in 1930 and his solemn vows in 1933. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees at St. Bonaventure University. On 12 June 1934 he was ordained a priest and took the name "Sixtus". From 1934, he also studied philosophy in Germany at the Universities of Munich and Bonn until the Second World War forced him to return to the US. From 1939 to 1943, he held a job as a special professor of philosophy at Siena College in
Loudonville, New York Loudonville is a hamlet in the town of Colonie, in Albany County, New York, United States. Loudonville was a census-designated place in the 1970, 1980, and 1990 US Census, but ceased to be in the 2000 Census, but became a CDP again in 2020. Hist ...
. In 1943, he was military chaplain for the 11th Armored Division of the 3rd Army under General
George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...
. Later in the war, he served the 1st Infantry in the same function. After the war, O'Connor was charged, together with the Lutheran minister
Henry F. Gerecke Reverend Henry Fred Gerecke (/gɛrəki/; August 4, 1893 – October 11, 1961) was a Lutheran minister who worked as a pastor, evangelist, prison chaplain, and US Army hospital chaplain. He is most well known for his work as a chaplain during the ...
, with the pastoral care of the prisoners of the Nuremberg War Crimes Trial, because he spoke fluent German from his years of study in Germany. Several prisoners under the influence of O'Connor returned to the Catholic faith, the most famous example being Hans Frank. On 16 October 1946, he assisted as chaplain at the execution of 10 war criminals, including Frank. In his role as a prison chaplain, O'Connor was popular and willing to bend the rules for reasons including that of helping prisoners contact their families. After serving the Nuremberg prisoners, O'Connor returned to St. Bonaventure College and taught philosophy and German there from 1947 to 1950. The following year, he was a guardian and taught philosophy at St. Stephen's, in Croghan, New York. From 1953, he was a professor at
Siena College Siena College is an American private Franciscan college in Loudonville, New York. Siena was founded by the Order of Friars Minor in 1937. The college was named after Bernardino of Siena, a 15th-century Italian Franciscan friar and preacher. St ...
, in New York. There, he was from 1963 to 1964 chairman of the philosophy department and from 1956 to 1964 vice president of the college. He was vicar of the school's monastery. In his religious life, he first bore the name Sixtus O'Connor (as during the Nuremberg Trials) and from 1968 onward that of Richard J. O'Connor. He had left nothing in writing about his activities in Nuremberg. O'Connor died on 10 July 1983, aged 74. He was buried at St. Agnes Cemetery, in Menands, New York.


Memberships

* Catholic Philosophy Association * Society of Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy * ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) Scholarship Committee


References


Sources


Obituary
hnp.org; accessed August 27, 2016. # ↑ For the U.S. side: Prison Commandant Burten C. Andrus cited in: William J. Hourihan: U.S. Army Chaplain Ministry to German War Criminals at Nuremberg, 1945-1946. Online, pg. 6 (PDF; 151 kB) # ↑ For the German side: Prison inmate F.X. Schwarz (former Nazi treasurer), cited in John E. Dolibois: Pattern of Circles: An Ambassador's Story. p. 167. {{DEFAULTSORT:OConnor, Sixtus 1909 births 1983 deaths American expatriates in Germany Nuremberg trials World War II chaplains United States Army chaplains St. Bonaventure University alumni People from Oxford, New York Siena College faculty Catholics from New York (state) 20th-century American Roman Catholic priests