Hugh O Flaherty Memorial

The Scarlet and The Black was the movie that recorded the tremendous feats of Hugh O'Flaherty and his organisation.

Scarlet refers to the accent colour worn by Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty of the Holy Office at the Vatican during World War II.

Black refers to the colour of the uniform worn by Gestapo Colonel Herbert Kappler, German officer in charge of pacifying Rome after the Nazis occupied it during World War II.

The movie captures the story of the deadly cat-and-mouse game played between the Monsignor and Gestapo officer that ended only with the liberation of Rome by Allied troops.

Gregory Peck plays the wily and stubborn Irish priest, while Christopher Plummer plays the implacable Gestapo colonel. 

CBS in 1983 distributed more than 500,000 scripts of ''The Scarlet and the Black'' to students in the US elementary and high schools. The scripts are read aloud in class to stimulate student interest in English and history. Meanwhile, Mr. Plummer appeared on TV in the US and informed viewers of books that deal with the resistance movements in World War II.