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

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was a close aide to the Irish priest Hugh O'Flaherty.

Biography

Early life and education

Galea was born on 5 May 1918 in

Birgu Birgu ( , ), also known by its title Città Vittoriosa ('Victorious City'), is an old Fortifications of Birgu, fortified city on the south side of the Grand Harbour in the Port Region, Malta, Port Region of Malta. The city occupies a promontory ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. He studied at the Dockyard School in

Senglea Senglea ( ), also known by its title Città Invicta (or Civitas Invicta), is a fortified city in the Port Region of Malta. It is one of the Three Cities in the Grand Harbour area, the other two being Cospicua and Vittoriosa, and has a popu ...

and later attended the Boys' Secondary School in

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

. In 1933, Galea entered the

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

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

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

, where he earned his

Doctor of Sacred Theology The Doctor of Sacred Theology (, abbreviated STD), also sometimes known as Professor of Sacred Theology (, abbreviated STP), is the final theological degree in the pontifical university system of the Catholic Church, being the ecclesiastical equ ...

World War II activities

It was during his time at the Pontifical Gregorian University that Galea met Hugh O'Flaherty, 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, 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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two 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 often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...

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 languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. In 1961, he returned to Malta, and between 1967 and 1971, he served as the Augustinian

provincial superior A provincial superior is an officer of a religious institute (including religious orders) acting under the institute's Superior General. A provincial superior exercises general supervision over all the members of that institute in a territorial ...

. 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 Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

, 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